Through Magic and Flames
by The hazel-eyed bookworm
Summary: Harry expected a normal fifth year, or as normal as it could be. But when his cousin Duncan Rosenblatt and seven books and a movie are brought at the school, them, along with a few guests, have to read them. Constructive criticism welcomed!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER! J.K. ROWLING DOES!**

Prologue

It was a normal day at Hogwarts school of Witch Craft and Wizardry, or as normal as it could be. Three students could be seen walking across the grounds of the school. Their names were Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. They were were in their 5th year at Hogwarts. Things weren't exactly going that good with the fact that no one believed that Voldemort was back, an horrible toad named Umbridge was the new DADA teacher who's uses blood-quills at her detentions and was the High Inquisitor for Hogwarts. Everyone hated her, except, of course, most, if not all, the Slytherins along with the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry hated that year so far, except the DA meetings, he missed his younger cousin a lot. They got tired of walking and decided to go back inside since lunch should be starting in the Great Hall soon.

Once they got back up to the castle, Umbridge's voice rang through the corridors. "All students and Staff to the Great Hall Immediately." Harry groaned. What did that Toad want now?

They walked to the Great Hall along with everybody else. Nearly everybody was there once they got there.

They went over to the Gryffindor table next to Ginny, Neville and the Twins (Fred and George). Umbridge was standing in front of everybody with a look of satisfaction and triumph on her face.

In front of her there was a stack of seven books and in her had was a piece of parchment. When everybody was there and seated she started her speech. "Hem, Hem." she started. "Now that you're all here and seated I will explain why I brought you all here. While I was in my room, these seven books appeared on my desk along with a note" She gestured to the seven books in front of her and the

piece of parchment in her hand. " The note reads this:

_Dear Hogwarts,_

_We send these books from the future to help with the on-coming war and to prevent some deaths, free innocent people and prove who's lying and who's not. Harry and Duncan we are sorry about this, but we had to do this. Umbridge got a separate note explaining what they are about and that they are 100% true._

_Sincerely,_

_The Golden and Silver Trios. "_

Talking erupted around the Great Hall as everybody tried and figure out who the Golden and Silver Trios were.

Umbridge asked them all to be quiet and continued her speech.

"They are all about Harry Potter, his cousin Duncan Rosenblatt, who is absent this year, and their years at Hogwarts" Harry looked up and glared at her.

"Is that even legal?!" he heard a familiar voice yell at her.

He looked to his side and saw his cousin Duncan glaring at her. Harry smiled; if Duncan was there things were going to get interesting. Umbridge smiled evilly.

"Oh, yes. It's all 100% legal. I've talked to the Minister and he agrees that we should read these books to prove that you are lying." "_Of course_," Harry thought bitterly, "_t__he Minister approved so they have to read it in front of the whole school_. Duncan sent him a confused look, and mouthed "What? Who is her?"

He just hoped they didn't mention his home life at the Dursleys, but with his luck they would. He never told anyone about his cupboard, being starved most his life, never having any friends except his cousin, stuff of his own, and everything else that he had endured while living there. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George had a small idea since Ron, Fred and George had rescued him from the Dursleys in his 2nd year, they didn't know anything else, really. He put his head on the table and sighed, might as well get it over with, since he had no choice. Duncan groaned and put his head in his hands, thinking along the same lines of his cousin. When he was a little kid, he had real problems with a good friend of his mother who treated him brutally. At the age eight he had ran away and lived with his cousins, aunt and uncle, until the beginning of that year, when he decided to go back home, and a lot of things happened.

Harry looked at Duncan worried. He was taller and maybe a bit muscular, but his skin was scalier than ever and he noticed a lot of scars in his body, as if he had gotten into several fights and had gone lost all, Harry knew this from experience. The dark circles around his eyes did not help, he looked exhausted. Ron, Hermione, Neville and Dean were greeting him, really happy that he had come back. "_I wonder what happened this year, we haven't talked in ages_"

Once everybody calmed down again, Umbridge continued. "Before we start I have a few guests that will be arriving shortly." Dumbledore stood up and announced that he had invited a few of his own guests that should be arriving shortly as well. A few minutes later, the door to the Great Hall opened.

Who came in was: Percy Weasley,Cornelius Fudge, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black as Snuffles, Nymphadora Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Isabel Vazquez, Kenny Rogers, Blitz Barnes, Jenna Swenager (sp?) Margaret Rosenblatt and a tall, blonde man who the cousins didn't knew. He had orange skin like Duncan and his hair was in a ponytail. His eyes were amber.

"D-Dad?" asked Duncan, startled. He knew his father was a Kaiju, but this man had exactly the same scent. "He _must have a human form or something_." He reasoned

They sat in the Tables accordingly: Gryffindor- Belloc, Isabel, Jenna, Kenny, Margaret, Remus, Sirius, Molly, Arthur, Bill and Charlie. Hufflepuff- Tonks. Teachers- Mad-Eye, Fudge Barnes and Percy.

"Now that the guests have arrived we shall start on the first book called Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt and the Sorcerer's Stone." Umbridge said, continuing her speech. "The seven books are named Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, Harry Potter, and the Half-Blood Prince, also we have a movie about Mr. Rosenblatt current year (Belloc face palmed and Duncan paled.) And Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt and the Deathly Hallows. Four Books are from the past, one book in from the past, present and future and the last two are from the future. Everything in these books is 100% true. I have a very reliable source, so these will prove that Harry Potter and his cousin are liars." After a minutes of silence she said. "We shall begin reading now. I shall read first." Then she picked up the first book and began to read.

**Look everyone, it's my first fanfic and this just popped in my head and I thought: Why not?**

**So, love it? Hate it? R&R please!**

**Pop question of this chapter, in which house will Duncan be sorted?**


	2. The Boy-Who-Lived

**Thanks to the person who reviewed me, and the favorites and followers made my day! Here is the officially first chapter of my story!**

**Do I look like J. K Rowling? No. She owns Harry Potter, not me!**

**CHAPTER ONE**

**THE BOY WHO LIVED**

Harry groaned and started banging his head on the table. He hated that title with a passion.

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,**

Duncan's turn to bang his head on the table. Of all the people in the world, why the Dursleys?

**of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"The opposite of you, then?" Belloc whispered to Margaret. She smiled

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"Made what?" asked the Purebloods, confused. Before Hermione could go into rant mode, Duncan said: "Write it on a list and I will explain what it is when the chapter is over."

Remus watched how the Purebloods put out quills and paper, and to his amusement, Arthur too.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache.**

"Lovely" snickered Seamus

**Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. **

"So, no changes then?" said Margaret. Belloc's lips twitched in amusement.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley**

"What kind of name is Dudley," Belloc laughed.

"Like your one to talk, Belloc," Barnes said.

"What, my name is a perfectly good name," Belloc said.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dad," Duncan said smirking at him.

"Hmph,"

**and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

Duncan, Ron, Fred, George and Harry all snorted.

"Dudley" and "small" can't be in the same sentence…" started Harry

"…Unless "not" is between." Finished Duncan. The twins looked offended; finishing each other's sentences was THEIR thing!

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister**

"And what about Mrs. Rosenblatt?" asked Margaret.

**, but they hadn't met for several years ;in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,**

"That…that's horrible!" cried Ginny.

**because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband **

"JAMES WAS NOT A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING!" yelled Remus.

**were as unDursleyish**

"Not a word" muttered Hermione and some Ravenclaws.

**as it was possible to be, the same was with her other sister, Mrs. Rosenblatt.**

"That's it" commented said Mrs.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters or the Rosenblatt arrived in the street.**

"We should pay them a visit, don't you think?" smirked Belloc.

"I would pay good money to see that." Said Duncan, the same evil grin showing in his face. Harry smiled internally, if his Uncle was anything like Duncan…

**The Dursleys knew that Mrs Dursley's sisters had smalls sons, too, but they had never even seen them. Those boys were another good reason for keeping the families away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with children like that.**

"Children like what?" asked Belloc dangerously.

"Magical." Said Harry

"Halfbreed, but I doubt they know" mouthed Duncan

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,**

"I thought it was already started?" said Feorge. Ron chuckled

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Does it mind? They are all boring" joked Harry. Duncan chuckled as well, what a true statement.

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Brat" muttered Mrs. Weasley under her breath.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"Owls usually aren't that careless" muttered Margaret.

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Brat." Said Minerva.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house.**

"Little?" said Hermione

"Tyke?" said dumbfounded Belloc. If Duncan had behaved like that…

Duncan seemed to read his thoughts, because he paled slightly.

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map. **

"That's Professor Gonny" smirked Lee

"Don't call me that!" shouted McGonagall

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. **

"Animagus can" smiled Flitwick

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"One-track mind, much?" sneered Draco.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"And what's strange about that?" asked Cormac McLaggen

"The Wizarding World is really unfashionable, since Muggles hadn't wore cloaks since the Middle Age" answered Margaret. Lavender and Parvati looked shocked at the thought of being unfashionable.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! **

"Yeah, the nerve of him!" mocked the twins

**But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something... yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

"Unobservant much?" snorted Barnes, clearly annoyed

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open- mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. **

The majority of the Muggleborns nodded.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"He likes to shout, doesn't he?" smiled Kenny

"You have no idea" answered Duncan

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk**

"WHAT?!" shouted Harry

"THE WORLD IS ENDING!" yelled Ron

**across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"THE WORLD IS RIGHT AGAIN!" they said together.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard yes, their son, Harry"**

Everyone looked sad** (**when I mean everyone, I mean, everyone but Umbitch…sorry, Umbridge**)**

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"If only" sighed Harry. Margaret stared at him. His brother-in-law couldn't be that bad, could he?

**Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking... no, he was being stupid. **

"No surprises here" commented Duncan dryly

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"It is in the Wizarding World" said Dumbledore.

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry.**

"He doesn't even know your name?!" shouted an incredulous Margaret.

"Don't worry, Aunt Margaret." Said Harry "Still don't think he does" he added in a whisper.

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. **

Fred and Gorge looked at each other.

"Harvey Potter" Fred tried

"Harold Potter" George said

"Nope, doesn't have the same ring" they said together.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd had a sister like that...**

"You aren't one to talk!" snapped Duncan angrily.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks... He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

**"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

"Is he okay?" said Duncan a bit worried

"Indeed, Mr. Rosenblatt." Said Flitwick, blushing slightly

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

"Happy day? My sister was murdered!" cried Margaret. The mood became considerably somber.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"Only reached half of him" said Flitwick.

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete**

**stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that**

**was. **

"Non-magical person" said Margaret and Hermione completely synchronized. Duncan and Belloc looked at each other and started to laugh.

**He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

A loud _thud_ was heard and the Hall looked to see George fainted on the floor, with a very pale Fred trying to reanimate him

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw -**

**and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that**

**morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the**

**same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

All the students stared at McGonagall's glasses.

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a**

**stern look. Was this normal cat behavior? **

"No, it's normal Gonny behavior."

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"I can see who wear the pants in this relationship" said Hermione amused. At the confused looks she was getting, she explained "Muggle saying."

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter **

Duncan smiled, Maggie Kent was a really good friend of his.

**and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

"Premonition of what is he going to be like, I suppose" huffed Barnes

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin.**

**"Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going**

**to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted," **

"That's my dad!" said Tonks happily.

**said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not**

**only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as**

**Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead**

**of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting**

**stars! **

"We should try it sometime." George whispered to his twin.

**Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's**

**not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain?**

**Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place?**

**And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

"He is putting it together." Said an impressed Belloc

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was**

**no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat**

**nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister**

**lately, have you?"**

**As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all,**

**they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

A very loud growl was heard in Duncan's direction.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls... shooting**

**stars... and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**

**"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought... maybe... it was something to do with... you**

**know... her crowd."**

"Her crowd?!" asked the Hall angrily

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered**

**whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he**

**didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son -**

**he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"Is not!" yelled Ginny, and blushed when everyone turned to look at her.

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite**

**agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed.**

**While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom**

**window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there.**

**It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for**

**something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the**

**Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of**

**- well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr.**

**Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting**

**thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were**

**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs.**

**Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about**

**them and their kind... He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get**

**mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over**

**- it couldn't affect them...**

**How very wrong he was.**

"Wish he hadn't" muttered Harry bitterly.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat**

**on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as**

**still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of**

**Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the**

**next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly**

**midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so**

**suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the**

**ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall,**

**thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which**

**were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes,**

**a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots.**

**His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon**

**spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been**

**broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"What are you doing here, Professor?" asked Neville

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a**

**street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was**

**busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to**

**realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat,**

**which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For**

**some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and**

**muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a**

**silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and**

**clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He**

**clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times**

**he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street**

**were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat**

**watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed**

**Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening**

**down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his**

**cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down**

**on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he**

**spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Ha! I told you it was her!" Ron exclaimed cheerfully.

"No one disagreed with you." Pointed out Duncan

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling**

**at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly**

**the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was**

**wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight**

**bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I 've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said**

**Professor McGonagall.**

"No one told you to do it" pointed out Margaret

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? **

Fred suddenly burst out laughing. The Gryffindor table stared at him.

"Gonny…party…dancing" he managed to chocke

"What?"

"Imagine Gonny in a party and dancing"

All of a sudden the Gryffindor table roared with laughter

**I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently.**

**"You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles**

**have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her**

**head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks**

**of owls... shooting stars... Well, they're not completely stupid. **

"HEY!" yelled Margaret, Isabel, Barnes and Kenny, while McGonnagall tried to apologize.

**They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet**

**that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

**"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious**

**little to celebrate for eleven years."**

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no**

**reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on**

**the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes,**

**swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping**

**he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A**

**fine thing it would be if, on the very day YouKnow-Who seems to have**

**disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he**

**really has gone, Dumbledore?"**

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful**

**for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

**"A what?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of"**

**"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't**

**think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if**

**You-Know-Who has gone -"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him**

**by his name? All this 'You- Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I**

**have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:**

**Voldemort."**

Flinch

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was**

**unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so**

**confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason**

**to be frightened of saying Voldemort's**

Flinch

"Oh, come on people, its just a name!" cried Harry

"Yeah, is like in the Muggle world we should stop saying Belloc's name! Absolutely pointless!" yelled Duncan. Belloc smiled internally

**name.**

**"I know you haven 't, said Professor McGonagall, sounding half**

**exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're**

**the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, **

Flinch

**was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort **

Flinch

**had powers I will never have."**

**"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."**

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey**

**told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Too much information Proffessor" said Tonks

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls**

**are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what**

**everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally**

**stopped him?"**

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most**

**anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard**

**wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed**

**Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that**

**whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until**

**Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing**

**another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"What they're saying," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort**

**turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is**

**that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead. "**

Sepulchral, respectful silence.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe it...**

**Oh, Albus..."**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know... I**

**know..." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all.**

**They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But - he**

**couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how,**

**but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's**

**power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone.**

"No, it was Mum" Harry whispered.

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's - it's true?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's**

**done... all the people he's killed... he couldn't kill a little boy?**

**It's just astounding... of all the things to stop him... but how in the**

**name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

**"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"You know" said Harry, wondering why the headmaster hadn't looked at him in all year.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her**

**eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a**

**golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch.**

**It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving**

**around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because**

**he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was**

**he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to**

**tell me why you're here, of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family**

**he has left now."**

"What about me?!" yelled Margaret. Dumbledore seemed taken aback. "I wasn't able to locate you, miss"

**"You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried**

**Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four.**

**"Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't**

**find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw**

**him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets.**

**Harry Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and**

**uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've**

**written them a letter."**

"A LETTER?! YOU TOLD THEM THAT PETUNIA'S SISTER WAS MURDERED IN A LETTER?!" roared Belloc, so loudly that dust fell from the ceiling.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on**

**the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a**

**letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a**

**legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day**

**in the future - there will be books written about Harry - every child**

**in our world will know his name!"**

Harry groaned

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his**

**half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous**

**before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even**

**remember! CarA you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away**

**from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and**

**then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy**

**getting here, Dumbledore?"**

"Thanks for trying, Professor" said Harry.

**She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she**

**thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Harry looked sickened

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as**

**this?"**

I would trust Hagrid with my life," said the golden trio and Duncan

**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor**

**McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does**

**tend to - what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew**

**steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a**

**headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and**

**a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of**

**them.**

If dogs could smile, Snuffled would be doing that.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride**

**it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times**

**as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long**

**tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands**

**the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were**

**like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle**

**of blankets.**

"Scary, scary, scary…and the blankets ruin it all." Snorted Duncan

**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did**

**you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sit," said the giant, climbing**

**carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to**

**me. **

Loads of people looked grim.

**I've got him, sir."**

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right**

**before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was**

**flyin' over Bristol."**

"Awww"the girls cooed and Harry blushed

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of**

**blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a**

**tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously**

**shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

The girls cooed again and Duncan joined then, just to annoy his cousin.

**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"**

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself**

**above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well**

**- give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."**

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.**

**"Could I - could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his**

**great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very**

**scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a**

**wounded dog.**

Snuffles looked offended.

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and**

**burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead**

**- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or**

**we'll be found,"**

"Always a softie." Said Margaret sarcastically. Belloc understood her completely, he wasn't very good either comforting people.

**Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly**

**on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to**

**the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep,**

"Wait, they left you on the doorstep!" Ginny said angrily.

"That's horrible," Hermione said.

**took a letter out**

**of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to**

**the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at**

**the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall**

**blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from**

**Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying**

**here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius his**

**bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself**

**onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose**

**into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore,**

**nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he**

**stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and**

**twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet**

**Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking**

**around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the**

**bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," **

I needed it" muttered Harry.

**he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish**

**of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and**

**tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect**

**astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his**

**blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside**

**him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was**

**famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs.**

**Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk**

**bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and**

**pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very**

**moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up**

**their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy**

**who lived!"**

After a good explanation of the wizarding world to the Muggles and the Kaiju, they were ready to read the other chapter.

"Can I?" said Isabel. She took the book and started to read**. "Chapter two: The other boy"**

**Sooooo, another is over! R&R, pleeeaaaseeeee!**

**Pop question of this chapter: Should Duncan tell Harry his "family secret, or it will be revealed in the Reading?**


	3. The other boy

**I don't own Harry Potter or Firebreather.**

**Chapter two: The other boy.**

"Eek!" squealed Duncan, knowing too well who was referring to.

"Is this the time when you…?"

"Yes, Harry, and…Oh no." Duncan said. "My Dad's going to kill me when he discover…"

He then started ranting on and in such a low voice that neither Umbridge nor the students (besides the Golden Trio) understood.

Harry was watching him in amusement, and Belloc was staring at him wide-eyed.

"LANGUAGE!" he hissed, causing Harry to burst out laughing and Duncan to smirk.

"C'mon, Uncle, he has a good reason." smiled Harry between chuckles

Umbridge was looking at them like they were crazy.

**Seven years had passed, and nothing new in Privet Drive had occurred. **

"BORING!" yelled the Weasley twins.

**The same houses, the same gardens, and the same people in that hot day of the summer. Nothing new. Except…**

**Nobody was in sight to see a small, fair-haired boy **

"What an entrance" commented Harry.

**approaching silently to the Number Four. He knocked at the door and a very fat man opened.**

"Understatement of the year" snorted Duncan, who was already a mass of nerves.

"_Why is it mentioned_?" wondered Belloc

"**We don't give charity, we don't need anything of what you are selling. Have a good day." He said rudely and was about to slam the door shut. However, the boy's small hand stopped him.**

"**I am not selling anything." The child said. "Here lives a Petunia Dursley?" he asked. The man nodded. **

"**Can I see her? Please, it's important." The man nodded again and slammed the door. After a few minutes, a thin, horse-faced woman appeared.**

"**Can I help you?" she asked.**

"**By any chance, do you have a sister named Margaret Evans nee Rosenblatt?"**

Barnes looked at Duncan and stared at him. Surely he wasn't…

**Petunia froze. She was about to say "no" but the boy's piercing stare made her say "yes, why?"**

"**I am Margaret Rosenblatt's son." **

"_So there is where he was_" Margaret thought. Everybody was now looking at Duncan and he flinched under Belloc's piercing glare.

**He said. "She recently obtained a job abroad, and since she couldn't take me with her, Mom told me that I should go to your house for a while. I apologize for the adjusted timing, but it really was a surprise." The boy finished. He wasn't really lying, his Mom was abroad, but he had run away.**

"WHAT?! HOW COULD YOU…?!" Belloc started. Saying that Belloc was mad would be like saying the World War I was a small misunderstanding.

Harry started doing desperate signs to Isabel to continue reading.

**It wasn't like he **_**wanted**_** to do so**

Cue surprised looks.

**But he really couldn't take it anymore. Saying that he was only **_**good**_** keeping secrets would be a lie. **

Duncan knew what was coming, and it was accompanied with a bittersweet taste. On one hand, they all would know his deepest and darkest secret, but on the other hand, he would get his revenge. He looked at Barnes with a smirk on his face, and was delighted when he saw the man pale. He then looked at his Dad, worried but anxious.

"_Barnes, it's your funeral…"_he thought

**He had hid the bruises and wounds since he could remember,**

Now Belloc had began looking at Margaret and saw her clueless.

**but he had had enough. Taking advantage that his mother was abroad, he left after a particularly bad beating from Barnes.**

Belloc's anger rose to the sky in mere seconds. _No one_ hurt his son and live to tell the tale. He lunged at Barnes among the avalanche of yells and hexes and started punching him with all his might.

Margaret looked betrayed with tears in her eyes, unable to wrap her head around the idea. She thought he was her friend, but he had abused her son…why Duncan hadn't told her?

Duncan looked divided between glee and worry. Glee because Barnes was getting what he deserved, and worry because he would be questioned later, and he was _**dreading**_ it.

Harry was throwing hexes at Barnes, tears running for his face. It explained why Duncan hadn't looked surprised with his family life, because _he was used to it_…

Ron was being held back for a crying Hermione and a furious Neville.

The entire Hall was the same.

After some time, in which Barnes had to be levitated to the Hospital Wing by an angry Poppy, Isabel, with her voice shaking with rage, began to read again.

**Petunia was rooted to the spot. Margaret's son? That little boy? **

"I feel offended. I wasn't that small" mumbled Duncan

"Yeah you were, REALLY small" smirked Harry trying and failing to light the mood.

**Somehow, Petunia knew that the boy wasn't lying.**

"**Can't your Dad take care of you?" she said icily.**

Belloc looked regretful. It would be very hard for him to read these references.

**The child looked down.**

"**I don't know where he is" he said softly.**

"It wasn't a lie, but I know now" Duncan said, noticing the state of his father

"**Please Aunt Petunia, **_**please**_**." He begged. Petunia looked at the boy. He had that expression in his eyes that Margaret had when she really wanted something.**

Margaret and Duncan smiled.

"**I'll speak with Vernon. Come inside."**

"They let you stay, didn't they?" asked Margaret

Duncan nodded.

**She said, and the boy went to the house. It was clean, unnaturally clean. The house was covered with photos of a very fat boy. The child didn't have time to think in anything else, because he bumped into two boys.**

**One was the fat boy he had seen in the photos. Blonde, with hardly any neck and blue eyes. The other was smaller than the fat boy, but bigger than himself. He was a raven-haired boy with green eyes and glasses. He was wearing hand-me-down clothes. **

**The big boy stepped towards him and pushed him to the ground.**

"HEY!" yelled Margaret, Belloc and the Weasleys

"**Now, who are you and what are you doing here? I am Dudley." He said.**

**The boy had to resist the urge to laugh. What kind of name was Dudley? Then again, he wasn't one to talk…**

"Too true." Duncan sighed. His name was just ridiculous!

**As Dudley waddled out of the room, the fair-haired boy stared at the raven-haired one, who helped him to stand.**

"Thanks, by the way"

"**Thanks. Are you a Dursley's boy?"**

"Do I look like one?" Harry said mock offended.

"Thank God for small miracles" said Margaret.

**the fair-haired said. He noticed a familiar sparkle of insecurity in the green eyes of the kid.**

"**No. I am Harry Potter; I live here with my Aunt and Uncle because my parents died." The boy said**

"Blunt." Ron commented. Duncan smiled, what a contradiction, Ron had no sense of tact whatsoever.

"**Oh." The other boy said softly. "Then I have news for you, Harry" he said cheerfully. "I am your cousin and I will be staying here!" **

**Harry smiled.**

**Aunt Petunia's shrill voice was heard.**

"**You can stay, boy" she said.**

"You talked too soon, but it worked" commented Belloc

"**What's your name, by the way?" asked Harry, raising a hand.**

"**My name is Duncan. Duncan Rosenblatt." He grinned and shook his hand.**

That's the end of the chapter." Said Isabel

"Permission to go and kill Barnes?"

"Conceded." Said Margaret. Belloc then turned to Duncan "In the break we will talk." Duncan's eyes widened.

"All...all right" he said breathlessly

**Another is over! I want more reviews, please.**

**Pop question of this chapter: What kind of accidental magic could Duncan do?**


	4. The vanishing glass

**Thanks for all the reviews! I don't own HP or Firebreather. Enjoy this chapter!**

"Okay, third chapter. Who wants to read?" asked Umbridge in a sickly sweet voice  
"I will" said Belloc. The book floated towards him. Still not able to believe such thing as magic, he began to read quite uneasily.

**THE VANISHING GLASS**

Duncan and Harry looked at each other, their eyes widening.

"Oh oh" they said together

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, and nearly four since the son of Petunia's cousin, Margaret Rosenblatt appeared in their doorstep and they were forced to keep him too,**

"Forced?"

**but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"BORING!"Yelled the Weasley twins

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets**

"Huh?"

** - but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

"You certainly have a way with words, son" Belloc said, chuckling. Duncan merely stared at him.

**and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boys lived in the house, too.**

"You and Harry ran away. Please let it be" prayed Isabel

"Two times in so little time? Are you crazy?" asked Harry

**Yet Harry Potter and Duncan Rosenblatt were still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. Their Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Harry woke with a start and Duncan only groaned and continued sleeping.

"That is a horrible way to wake" Margaret said wincing, remembering that voice. Isabel and Hermione chuckled, amused at their friend.

** Their aunt rapped on the door again.**

"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.

"It wasn't a dream" the entire Hall said

"We didn't know" groaned Harry as he stroke Snuffles fur.

**Their aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you two up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"They made you COOK?" yelled an outraged Isabel

"I never got burn" Duncan smiled. Harry stiffed

"But, still." Margaret said, fuming. The professors had a look that plainly said: "This conversation is NOT over"

**Harry groaned.**

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

**"Nothing, nothing . . ."**

**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry punched Duncan lightly in his arm. Duncan opened his eyes.**

**"Yes, Harr?" he said annoyed**

"Always moody in the mornings, just like your father" teased Margaret

"HEY!"

**"C'mon get up, Aunt Petunia said we have to look after the food" explained Harry. Duncan had never been a morning person.  
**  
"You can say it again"

**"I know. So?" **

**"You will come to a sticky end"**

**"All right, all right, I'm getting up"**

Belloc chuckled.

**Duncan got slowly out of bed and Harry started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them,  
**  
Kenny and Ron shuddered. They both hated spiders. Gred and Feorge smirked, they had a prank in mind for the pale boy.

** put them on. Harry and Duncan were used to spiders,**

"How can you be used to spiders?" a fearful Kenny asked, while Ron nodded. Duncan, meanwhile, had closed his eyes _"I'm going to be in SO much trouble_"

Harry put his head in the table, it was only a matter of seconds…

** because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where they slept.  
**  
"WHAT?!" all them shouted. Duncan only sat there, almost shaking. Harry was trying to avoid the pitying looks.  
"You used to sleep in a cupboard! A cupboard! Belloc, if you want to kill the Dursleys you have my permission and approval!" Margaret yelled  
"Gladly" Belloc answered, looking at Duncan intently. He couldn't believe it. His son, the Prince of Kaiju had slept a cupboard? Then yet, why Duncan was living with those people, why he wasn't with his mother yet? He would talk to his son in the break.  
Meanwhile, Minerva McGonagall was giving Dumbledore the century's scold:

"I TOLD YOU! HE CAN'T GO BACK THERE! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY, ALBUS, LOOK HOW THEY TREATED THEM!" yelled McGonnagall at the top of her lungs.

Snape was shell-shocked. "_So the Potter brat had not been spoiled at all. Maybe his bighead comes with Hogwarts…yes, that should be_"

"Harry WON'T go back there. He can live with us." Said Duncan without thinking much. He realized what he said and was surprised when he saw his Mom nodding her head fiercely.

Ron, Hermione, Neville and all the Weasleys were fuming. No one treated the family in that way. And Duncan and Harry were almost family.

**When they were dressed they went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents.  
**  
"Spoiled brat" was heard among the room

** It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. **

"I bet you that Dudley only want the bicycle for the hell of it" said Ron. Duncan was getting annoyed for the interruptions.

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Duncan, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise**

"I told you so." said Ron smugly

"_I told you so_ has a brother, his name is _shut the hell up_" snapped Duncan

**- unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"He better doesn't mean you" said Isabel dangerously.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,  
**  
"That little walrus is going to pay for doing that to my nephew and my son" growled Belloc "Don't you dare to deny it, Duncan." Belloc cut short Duncan's protests. The boy looked at him and bowed his head in shame. Belloc's eyes softened a bit.

** but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast, as Duncan. And also was the fact that if Dudley punched Harry, Duncan would break his face.  
**  
"That's my boy" Belloc said. Margaret looked like she was about to say something, she thought better and she shut up.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age, Duncan was even smaller and skinnier than his cousin.  
**  
"It does NOT come from my family" said Belloc.

"Funny how the things turned out to be, don't you think, Harry?" chuckled Duncan, he was as tall as his cousin.

"How did you do it? Last year you were a skinny midget." Asked George

"Dunno. Puberty?"

** They looked even smaller and skinnier than they really were because all they had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than they were.  
**  
"Why that little sh..."

"BELLOC!"

** Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.  
**

"You used to LIKE it?" asked Hermione astounded.

"Not anymore" grimaced Duncan while Harry nodded. Snape and the Slytherins looked skeptical.

** Duncan had a pointed face, orange skin, blonde hair, and sparkling amber eyes. The only thing he liked of his appearance was his eyes, but he hated his orange skin as much as Harry liked his scar.  
**  
Margaret smirked at Belloc. He pouted.

**They had had it as long as they could remember, and the first question Harry could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it, as well as Duncan's skin.  
**  
**"In the car crash when your parents died and the dad of your cousin had orange skin too" she had said.  
**  
"WHAT?! How can they lie about the way of his parents' death?!" Belloc yelled. This was barely heard because of the yelling that happened in the Hall.

** "And don't ask questions."**

Don't ask questions - that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.

"How can you learn if you don't ask questions?" asked Hermione and the Ravenclaws

"You can´t" said Isabel

**"They lied" Duncan had said, late that night in his cupboard. "I don't know how I know it, but, they lied"**

All the eyes were on Duncan. Belloc looked thoughtful.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon and Duncan was frying the eggs.**

"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.

"Not going to work" Duncan and Harry singsonged

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place. Harry often complained about his cousin's blonde, straight hair. Duncan only laughed at that.  
**  
Belloc looked smug. Duncan smiled

** Duncan was frying the last eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.  
**  
"Ew" Isabel said.

"Charming" said Jenna a bit revolted

"Lovely." Said Cho looking a bit green

** Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

"Margaret, is your sister myopic?" Belloc asked to his wife. Margaret laughed

** - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.  
**  
Everyone laughed

** Duncan often said that Dudley looked like a Young killer whale**

And more.

"Well, he had also nicknames for us, little rat" said Harry

"I am "the little rat"?" asked an indignant Duncan.

"Yeah. You were all small and skinny and with long legs." Explained the Lightning boy.

"Actually it suits you." Belloc smirked

"HEY!"

Harry knew that the nickname made his cousin to remember Pettigrew, but he decided to tease him only one more time and he would change his nickname.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."

"Spoiled bully" Belloc growled

"Even I don't get that much!" said Malfoy astonished. The entire Hall looked at him strangely. "What?"

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy." **

"**Spoiled bully" Duncan thought  
**  
Duncan stared at his Dad and Belloc grinned at the "Like father, like son" moment

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Duncan smiled at Harry and imitated him**

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin? Two more presents. Is that all right?"  
**  
"You will only spoil him more" Margaret said

"Horrible parenting" agreed Mrs. Weasley.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work.  
**  
"Surely it was" snorted Terry Boot

** Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty . . . thirty . . ." **

"He can't even count!" said Lisa Turpin

**"What a dumb" thought Harry **

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia. ****"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." ****Uncle Vernon chuckled. ****"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **  
**  
**"He is encouraging that behavior?" Margaret said, shocked.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry, Duncan and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. ****  
****"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broke her leg. She can't take them." She jerked her head in Harry's and Duncan's direction. **

"They have a name" Belloc growled

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap and Duncan's eyes sparkled more. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry and Duncan were left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

** Harry often questioned Duncan why he couldn't eat food, because he had to steal coal when he saw it, or, when he was actually starving, hunt.**

Belloc looked guilty. "I should have taught him. If only I hadn't left"

** When hunting, Duncan often came home when the Dursleys were asleep, covered in blood but with his stomach almost empty.**

Belloc grimaced, was that was awful.

The Hall started questioning it. Surely he could eat, why not?

"My body doesn't digest it. I would throw up eventually." Explained Duncan to the confused people. Obviously, it only confused them more.

** Duncan always shrugged.**

**"Why do we have to live in a place with such a lack of preys to hunt?"**

"You sounded just like a Kaiju/your Dad" Belloc and Margaret said. They stared at each other. Duncan laughed nervously. All the others looked confused. What or who was a Kaiju?

**he had complained one day, they both in the cupboard, they both ravenous.**

Margaret looked close to tears and Belloc looked like he would kill the Dursleys

**"Because, my silly little cousin, humans don't hunt, they buy the food in a supermarket" Harry had said**

**"You talk about humans as if I am not one of them.**

"What is that supposed to mean? You didn't knew about...?" Belloc trailed off in anger.

"I do knew, I just didn't wanted to tell him yet"

More confused looks.

Harry froze. "_Duncan should be more careful, he doesn't know what the ministry does to halfbreeds…"_

Hermione had a thoughtful expression on her face. "_Kaiju…, Kaiju… I am sure I had read it somewhere…"_

** Besides, I have noticed that the humans have become lazier and lazier. No offence" he quickly added.**

**"No taken" Harry laughed. "But if one day you find a particular large prey, share it with me.**

Belloc stared at him, wide-eyed. Duncan stared at him and Margaret laughed.

"What's up with Dad?" Duncan asked his mom

"The tradition is that a Kaiju only can share his prey with his mate" Margaret whispered to him between laughs.

Duncan looked sick. "Ew. You are gross!" he yelled at Belloc. He only laughed.

"You would eat fresh meat?" asked Lee Jordan to Harry a bit revolted. Harry nodded.

"It was quite good actually"

** Maybe the hunt is the less of two evils"**

**And that was true. The Dursleys were cruel with Harry, but it was nothing compared to how they were to Duncan. Harry was sure that if Duncan wouldn't go hunt, he would be literally starving.**

"Insert growls here"

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. ****  
**  
"Understable" Belloc, Kenny and Duncan muttered.

"HARRY!" yelled Mrs. Weasly and Margaret.

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. ****"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boys." ****The Dursleys often spoke about Harry and Duncan like this, as though they wasn't there - or rather, as though they was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. ****  
**  
Insert three houses's swearing and promises of revenge. Belloc looked ready to kill somebody.

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?" ****"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. ****"You could just leave us here," Duncan put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). ****  
**  
**"**Nice try, son, but is not going to work"

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. ****  
**

"_She always looks like that_" thought Snape.

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. **

**"I won't blow up the house," said Duncan, but they weren't listening. ****  
**  
"Pity" surprisingly Jenna and Kenny muttered.

**"I suppose we could take them to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, ". . . and leave them in the car. . . ." ****  
**  
"They're not dogs!" yelled Remus. Snuffles made a growl.

**"That car's new, they're not sitting in it alone. . . ." **

**"**Of course, worried for the car" muttered Ginny. Hermione looked murderous.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. ****  
**  
"Prat"

**"Dinky Duddydums,**

Insert hysterical laughter here

** don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. ****"I. . . don't. . . want. . . them. . . t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "They always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Duncan sent him a death glare.****  
**  
"Evil kid" muttered Flitwick.

**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them.**

"Cowards. Vile cowards" Belloc said

** Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. ****  
**  
"There are not true friends if they can't see you weak." said Duncan, smiling at Kenny, Isabel and Jenna. They smiled back

**Half an hour later, Harry and Duncan, who couldn't believe their luck, were sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in their life.**

"For the first time?" Isabel asked, sad.

** Their aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Duncan aside, while Harry eavesdropped. ****"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Duncan's, "I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you and your cousin will be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." **

"Touch him, Dursley, and you will regret being born" Belloc said

**"We're not going to do anything," said Duncan, "honestly . . ." ****But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did, except Harry. **

"At least he did" tried Grace Rose, one of Duncan's friends.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around The Cupboard Twins**

Duncan and Harry made a face at the nickname while the others laughed

** and it was just no good telling the Dursleys they didn't make them happen. ****Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses (only until Duncan heard it). Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he couldn't explain how it had grown back so quickly. ****  
**  
"Nothing can beat the Potter hair!" yelled Remus, much to the amusement of everyone else

**Another time, Uncle Vernon was yelling at Duncan because he didn't completed his chores in time and suddenly the chair in which Uncle Vernon was about to sit caught **_**fire**_**.**

"_Attempt of murder_." Umbridge wrote in her list.

"Good one, kid." Smiled Belloc

"He could seriously injury him" said Hermione.

"Herm, don't be a fun-spoilt" said Ron. Hermione smacked him on the head.

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls).**

"Ewww" said Lavender, Parvati and Jenna

** The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. ****  
**  
They all cheered

**On the other hand, Duncan had gotten into terrible trouble for being found in the middle of an explosion of the school kitchens.**

"WHAT?" Margaret yelled.

** Dudley's gang had been chasing them as usual when, as much to Duncan's surprise as anyone else's, a group of boxes suddenly exploded, and he and Harry were sitting in the chimney of the school's kitchen. **

"Atta boy, Duncan!" said Belloc

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Duncan's headmistress telling them Harry and Duncan had been climbing school buildings and Duncan were setting fire to things. But all they'd tried to do (as Duncan shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) **"growls"** was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught them in mid-jump. They had no clue about the explosion, Duncan only said that he was angry, really really angry.**

"That's my boy" Belloc said again

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, their cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. **

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Duncan, the bank, and Harry and Duncan were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"He loves you, don't you think?" said Ken

** This morning, it was motorcycles. ****". . . roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. ****"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

"Bad move, Har" Duncan said, using his favorite nickname to his cousin.

"Gimme a break! I was eleven!" shouted Harry.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front.**

Kenny chuckled humorlessly; the fact was funny but his friend would be in trouble.

"If only." Said Bill.

"BILL! HARRY AND DUNCAN ARE IN THAT CAR!" yelled Mrs Weasley

** He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" ****Dudley and Piers sniggered. Duncan growled menacingly at the man.**

"My little boy already threatening, I am so proud" said Belloc, wiping a fake tear. Duncan only chuckled at him.

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." ****But Duncan wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think Harry and him (especially him) might get dangerous ideas. ****  
**  
Duncan grinned viciously. The Weasley Twins made a mental note to ask Duncan about those cartoons

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry and Duncan what they wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

Laugh echoed for ten minutes.

Fred and George stood up and walked towards the cousins.

"HJ Potter and DB Rosenblatt…" started Fred, while the boys raised an eyebrow at the nicknames.

"Us, the Pranksters Twins of Hogwarts would like to ask you…" continued George

"Would you like to prank with us?" they finished together. The teachers paled.

"Nah guys, I am more like a save the world type of guy." Said Harry

"And I like Hogwarts standing in one piece." Smirked Duncan.

"We kind of expected it from Harry, but not from you, little rat" they said and Duncan looked outraged.

"Don't-call-me-that"

"Shut up, you… fire-breathing rat?" tried Harry.

"Better, but without the "rat" part"

"Calm yourself, Firebreather" said Isabel between chuckles. Duncan turned to his Dad and his cousin.

"See? _That_ is a cool nickname"

**Harry and Duncan had the best morning they'd had in a long time.**

Everyone looked sad

** Harry was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him, but he relaxed as soon as he saw Duncan's amber eyes spark with a murderous glare.**

"Awwww"the girls cooed. "You are protecting him" Duncan blushed

"Of course I was"

** They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. ****Duncan felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last. ****  
**  
"Oh, crap"

"BELLOC!"

**After lunch they went to the reptile house.**

Duncan, the Slytherins and Isabel smiled. They liked that kind of animals.

** It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can**

"Wow" muttered Astoria Greengrass

** - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. ****Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. ****"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. ****  
**  
**"**Leave it alone" said Jenna and Isabel

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. ****"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. ****Harry and Duncan moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. **

More growls

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Duncan's. ****It winked. ****  
**  
"What the..?"

**Harry stared. Duncan looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too. **

"You are acting stupid" Ron commented

"That is your fault" Margaret snapped at Belloc. "Those are your genes showing"

"Keep believing that, Mags" he smirked

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry and Duncan a look that said quite plainly: **

**"I get that all the time." ****"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying." ****  
**  
"He is talking to a snake" said Kenny

**The snake nodded vigorously. ****  
**  
"AND THE SNAKE UNDERSTANDS!"

Those who knew smirked at Kenny's surprise. Those who didn't agreed with him.

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Duncan asked. **

"Not you too"

"You are a Parselmouth too?" asked Neville

"Yeah" said Duncan. _When I think about it, it make a bit of sense, a dragon is really close to a snake…_

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. ****Boa Constrictor, Brazil. ****"Was it nice there?" ****The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and the boys read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?" ****As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind the boys made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" ****  
**  
"Hey, they were having a nice conversation, so shut up and leave them alone!" snapped Belloc. Duncan sniggered

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. ****"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**

**"**HEY!"

** Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. Duncan felt angry, no one touched his cousin.**

Duncan grinned viciously.

** What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. ****Harry sat up and gasped; Duncan stared, wide-eyed; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

Everybody was silent for two seconds, and then they burst out laughing.

"Nice, Dun"

"Brilliant!"

"Awesome Harry"

"Good one, son"

"He deserved it!"

** The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. ****As the snake slid swiftly past them, Harry and Duncan could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come. . . . Thanksss, amigos." ****  
**  
"Aw, their first friend" cooed Margaret

"But it is a snake" retorted Barnes

"Do you mean that you compared a snake to us?" Kenny asked mock-offended

"Non in the slightest" Duncan responded

"Who knew that snakes can be polite?" Fred asked

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. ****"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" ****  
**  
"Magic" said Duncan mysteriously

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Duncan had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. **

**"**If only"

**But worst of all, for Duncan and Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry and Duncan were talking to it, weren't you, guys?" ****  
**  
"Oh, oh, more trouble for the cupboard twins" teased Charlie

"SHUT UP!"

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on his nephews. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go - cupboard - stay - no meals,"**

"He can't do that, they will starve!" shrieked Sprout. Madame Pomfrey had made a list and it had thing like: Malnutrition, Locked, Starved

** before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. Harry and Duncan lay in their dark cupboard much later, wishing they had a watch. They didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet.**

**"They aren't. I can hear them" Duncan said**

"Damned Kaiju listening" muttered Duncan

** Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. ****Harry lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. **

**"I TOLD YOU, they lied" snapped Duncan, he was also sad**

**Harry couldn't remember his parents at all. Duncan couldn't remember his Dad at all.**

Belloc looked guilty at Duncan.

** Their aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course they were forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. ****When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened, only Duncan's sudden apparition make life better,**

Duncan smiled at his cousin. He smiled back.

**but apart of it, the Dursleys were his only family, since Duncan never spoke about his mother, but Harry knew it was Petunia's little cousin, and Duncan knew nothing about his Dad. Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia, Duncan and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry and Duncan tried to get a closer look. **

"That would be very weird." Commented Jenna

"Indeed" said Duncan

**At school, the cousins had no one, except a girl named Maggie Kent, who were a good friend of them, despite the fact that Dudley's gang chased away all their other friends, but they were used to it. They were outcastes, loners, together.**

Duncan started to miss Maggie a lot. Her very thought usually make him to smile brightly and make his day. She was more than a friend to him, she was special. The voice of Belloc snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Who wants to read next?"

**The next chapter is already written. Review please please pretty please**

**Pop question: Should Duncan play quidditch? In what position?**


	5. The letters from no-one

**I don't own HP or FB.**

"Fourth one! And I am going to read!" said Sprout quickly. **CHAPTER FOUR - THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE." **

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry and Duncan their longest-ever punishment. By the time they were allowed out of their cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"Duncan, when was Dudley's birthday?" Belloc asked in a deadly calm voice.

"June" He quietly answered. All the room burst out yelling, cursing and in the cases of the females, crying. Duncan only tried to become smaller.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. **

"What a horrible child" said outraged Mr. Weasley

**Duncan was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"I will never understand human logic." Said Belloc. Margaret chuckled

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Freaks Hunting**

Margaret and Belloc's faces changed from angry, to murderous, to downright TERRIFING.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around with his cousin or going to Maggie Kent's house,**

Duncan smiled warmly at her mention

**the boys's only friend, and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.**

"Yes!"

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry and Duncan, on the other hand, were going to Stonewall High**

"No, you are going to Hogwarts"

"We didn't knew it!"

**, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny. **

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told his cousins. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

„Don't you dare" Duncan's parents said. The others were furious. Duncan was startled seeing how much people worry about him.

"**No, thanks," said Duncan. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." Then they ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

Laughter echoed though the hall.

"Margaret's cheek, that's for sure" laughed Belloc

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. **

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.**

Jenna fell to the floor both sick and laughing at such mental image, Parvati and Lavender were almost as bad, Cho and Margaret were chuckling and Angelina was sniggering.

**They also carried knobby sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life.**

How in the WORLD that can be good training?" Margaret and Jenna asked.

Blame the school" Duncan said

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**

"Then he hasn't had much proud moments" snickered Belloc. Margaret looked offended, she had said exactly that when Duncan started primary school.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

"OH MY GOD!" all the teens roared and then they started laughing. The adults looked at them in amusement. Seriously, how bad can it get?

**he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. Duncan was doing a strange sound, laugh-like, growling repeatedly and shortly.**

Duncan now laughed freely, remembering all that. (N/A the growling sound was that Duncan was trying to not even snicker, AKA, that muffled, growled sound)

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry and Duncan went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look and Duncan started coughing and gasping for air. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. **

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

Belloc snorted annoyed.

"**Your new school uniform," she said. **

**Harry looked in the bowl again and Duncan, still coughing a bit, gave a look at it.**

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet." **

Sarcasm doesn't work on her." Sighed Margaret

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." **

**Duncan seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue.**

Duncan Rosenblatt not arguing? That's a first!" laughed Hermione and Duncan glared at her

**They sat down at the table (Duncan still coughing a bit)and tried not to think about how they were going to look on their first day at Stonewall High — like they were wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. **

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry and Duncan's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. **

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. **

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. **

Wait, what? Is he ordering his son to do something?" asked a surprised Charlie

"**Make Harry get it." **

Never mind" Charlie retorted.

"**Get the mail, Harry." **

"**Make Duncan get it." Duncan stopped coughing and looked at him in surprise**

You traitor." Duncan muttered and his friends chuckled

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

Excuse me? That isn't even a fair fight!" Belloc yelled

**Duncan dodged the Smelting stick but Harry went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and **_**a letter for Harry**_**. **

"Your Hogwarts letter!" cried Margaret joyfully.

**Harry picked them up and stared at his, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: **

_**Mr. H. Potter **_

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs **_

_**4 Privet Drive **_

_**Little Whinging **_

_**Surrey **_

"Self-addressing quill" explained Dumbledore quickly

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

"No what?" asked the Purebloods.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion,**

The Gryffindors roared like the lions they were.

**an eagle,**

Nobody expected hundreds of water-eagles to come out of their wands and vanish in the air

**a badger,**

They were more normal, cheering and clapping

**and a snake**

The Slytherins clapped politely, and Blasie Zabini did a kind of victory dance.

**surrounding a large letter **_**H**_**.**

"HOGWARTS!" they all cheered

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

The twins and Lee laughed sarcastically.

**He could swear he heard Duncan's low growl of annoyance. **

So much like his father"Margaret thought

**Harry went back to the kitchen,**

Duncan smacked Harry in the head, Gibbs style.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You should had opened your letter in the hall, you idiot" sighed Duncan

**still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and started unfolding his letter **

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" **

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" **

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"Hey!"

"**That's **_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch them back. **

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking one letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. **

"He is like a rainbow, don't you think?" Isabel said. Hermione almost gagged and she swore not to eat porridge never again.

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. **

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took one curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. **

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!" **

"That sounded wrong" sang the twins. Duncan glared at them

"I was perfectly fine without the image in my head, mind you"

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry, Duncan and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. **

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly. **

What right do you have?" sneered Kenny

"_**I **_**want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine**_**." Duncan nodded furiously and his eyes turned in a disturbing tone of green.**

Belloc smiled at his son and he grinned back. True, he didn't like his new powers, but his instincts had been really useful in his life.

"**Get out, the three of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letters back inside its envelope. **

**Harry didn't move. Duncan couldn't restrain himself anymore**

Duncan's temper showing in three...two...one..."said Isabel

"**GIVE HIM HIS LETTER!" he shouted. **

See?"

Duncan blushed and his friends snickered.

"**Let **_**me **_**see it!" demanded Dudley. **

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall and giving Duncan a sharp kick, causing him to fall in the hall**

The air thickened and everybody looked at Hermione. Duncan rushed towards her and started comforting her, causing her magic to stop.

I'm sorry"she muttered, blushing. "Let's keep reading"

**, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry, Duncan and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; even with the combinated efforts of the two, Dudley won,**

_This is not right. Duncan couldn't be so weak by himself. What happened?_Belloc thought, alarmed by the second.

**so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor and Duncan sat there, listening. **

So, "damned Kaiju listening"? "said Belloc. Duncan stiffened and started muttering apologies.

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where they sleep? You don't think they're watching the house?" **

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly. **

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" **

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. **

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer…Yes, that's best…, we won't do anything…" **

"**But —" **

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out those dangerous nonsense?"**

Stamp-it-out?" Belloc asked in a deadly calm voice. Harry looked up at him in a loss of words. He couldn't tell him now.

Later, Uncle, I swear." He said

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited the cousins in their cupboard.**

He fit? " Isabel asked.

Nah, only his head"Duncan said, chuckling

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

Straight to the point" said McGonagall." I can see the resemblance between you and Harry" he told Duncan. The boys grinned.

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it." **

Isn't that illegal?" Jenna asked.

Yeah, it is" Margaret said.

"**It was **_**not **_**a mistake," said Duncan angrily, "it had our cupboard on it." **

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. **

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking…you're really getting a bit big for it…we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom. **

"**Why?" said Harry.**

Why he questioned it? Asked Kenny

It was the first nice thing they have done to us. We were suspicious" explained Duncan

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." **

"**All right. C'mon Harry." Said Duncan, and he was about to start with it when Vernon spoke again.**

"**Who said you were going too?" he sneered.**

"Wait, what?" started Ron

"**What?" Duncan said in a soft voice. "It's only fair. Why Harry can move and I am struck in here?"**

"**Don't ask questions!"**

Belloc started swearing in a low voice so the females didn't hear him. Duncan and Harry were staring at him.

"Where did you learn that word?"

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of **

**a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

Until I read them all". Smirked Duncan. Isabel and Hermione looked shocked.

When I was a child, I was a bookworm" he grinned sheepishly. Hermione grinned pleased, but the twins and Lee paled.

"We have lost him!" they cried dramatically

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't **_**want **_**him in there…I **_**need **_**that room…make him get out…" **

"Oh, shut the hell up" groaned Dean

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

"Agreed" mumbled Colin Creevey.

**That night, Harry couldn't sleep. He was too used to sleep with Duncan, **

"You missed me?" chuckled Duncan

"Mjm" said Harry

**so he went downstairs and he knocked the cupboard's door.**

"**Duncan, are you sleeping?" he asked as he tried to see something through the slit. Two brown eyes immediately appeared.**

"**No, couldn't sleep either. I was thinking about it, and I think they moved you because you had that letter." Harry nodded.**

"You think?" sneered Draco.

"Give us a break, we were ten!"

"**Can you unlock the door? I need to get out, this is like a cage"**

"Know the feeling" said Belloc lowly

**Harry unlocked it and entered.**

"**You can sleep here if you want" whispered Duncan.**

"I just have noticed, you…you… you and him!" shouted Fred

"Errr…why you made it sound like we were together?" asked Duncan carefully, completely sure he didn't want to know the answer.

"You two shares a bed!"

"So?"

"You never did nasty things?"

Duncan's eyes widened. "Scuse me while I go and throw up." He said grossed out

"We were ten! We are _cousins_! And GUYS, you sick-minded!" shouted Harry sickened

"**No, thanks, I don't think I can sleep tonight." Responded Harry, lying down in there.**

"**Well, if you don't want to sleep…"**

"**If I don't want to sleep, what?"**

"Yeah, Duncan, you made it sound pretty interesting" said George

"And so the gay relationship begins…" smirked Malfoy

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"**I was about to ask you"**

"**I know what I want to do." Harry said after a while. " I want to know more about you, about your life when you weren't here, about your parents, I have a right, I am you cousin"**

**He felt Duncan stiff.**

"**We are friends, right?"**

"**Right."**

"**Through thick and thin?"**

"**Of course we are." He heard Duncan take deep breaths.**

"**I never told you about my Dad, did I?"**

"_Holy God, he is telling him_" thought Belloc. He looked at Margaret and he saw her awe-stroked.

**said Duncan in the same apprehensive voice. Harry shook his head. "I know who is he, but I never met him."**

**Harry listened with rapt attention.**

"**Before I start, promise me one thing."**

"**Sure, what?"**

"**You won't left me"**

The entire Hall was looking at Duncan. What was so important about his father that made him ask that? The Evans cousins were almost like the Weasley twins. And Rosenblatt's father seemed pretty cool. (sorry, it was for my sister that I had to put it)

**Harry was startled for that question, but as it seemed an important matter to Duncan, he said:**

"**I promise"**

**Duncan sighed. This was going to be a LONG night…**

**Next morning at breakfast,**

"WAIT! What were you going to tell him?!" shouted Zacharias Smith.

"Oh, nothing important, only my family history" smiled Duncan. He was so relieved when Harry didn't turn his back at him…

**everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. **

"I have a horrible nephew" said Margaret

"Poor tortoise." Sighed Isabel

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Duncan looked very curious about it, and when something made Duncan Rosenblatt curious and he didn't knew it, he would be in a VERY bad mood. **

"Note to self: Never mention anything that Duncan doesn't know if you are not planning to explain it to him" said Belloc. Duncan scowled.

"Noted." All the Professors said in agreement. Duncan scowled even more

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. **

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another two! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive — And also one for Duncan! Mr. D. Rosenblatt, The Cupboard Under the Stairs…'" **

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry and Duncan right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind and Duncan was punching him. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, **

Belloc started growling really loudly. He was more than ready to KILL those sorry excuses for living beings. He stopped growling when he saw Duncan backing away from him slowly. Belloc looked at him and he was surprised when he saw Duncan flinching horribly.

"Sorry if I scared you"

"You didn't _scared_ me"

**Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's and Duncan's letters clutched in his hand. **

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at his nephews. "Dudley — go — just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room and Duncan was watching without seeing the wall.**

"That's a habit of yours, I mean, trailing into your own little world and stare at something" said Kenny.

"It is?" said Duncan surprised. His friends nodded

**Someone knew they had moved out of their cupboard (in the case of Duncan, well he had been moved a few moment ago) and they seemed to know they hadn't received their first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time they'd make sure they didn't fail. Duncan's head snapped up and looked at his cousin, both of them grinning. They had a plan. **

"It looks like you can read each other's mind" said Jenna, who had been awfully quiet.

"Kind of." Duncan and Harry grinned mysteriously.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. A hand touched his shoulder and Harry jumped.**

"**What the…?"**

"**SSSSHHH!" whispered Duncan.**

"Scared me shitless" grumbled Harry

"Duncan, you shouldn't scare him like that. He could wake the Dursleys." Belloc scolded him.

"I didn't meant to!" Duncan snapped

**Harry showed his teeth at him and they kept walking.**

**They were going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. Duncan's heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door — **

"**AAAAARRRGH!"**

"What the hell?" said Belloc. He would NEVER admit that, but Sprout had scared him with that shout.

"**What the hell?!"**

**Duncan leapt into the air and Harry froze; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something **_**alive**_**!**

"Please be the uncle." Prayed Kenny and the twins

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Duncan realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. **

Kenny snickered and the twins high-fived Duncan

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that the boys didn't do exactly what they'd been trying to do.**

"For once he was smarter than us" Duncan muttered

**He shouted at the boys for about half an hour and then told them to go and make a cup of tea. The black-haired and the blonde-haired kid shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time they got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Duncan could see six letters addressed in green ink. **

"**I want —" Harry began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. **

GROWLS

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. **

"What?" asked a bemused Isabel.

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't **_**deliver **_**them they'll just give up." **

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

"I'll never say this again: I agree with Petunia." Said Margaret.

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon**

"Thank god." Said Margaret. All of the other people agreed

**, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. **

"He had lost his marvels." Said Isabel.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for the almost-brothers.**

Duncan smiled; Harry was his brother in all but a bit of blood.

**As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. **

"Well, that's…original." Said Kenny smiling at McGonnagall

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, **"Belloc's growls"** he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises. **

"He HAS gone mad"

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry and twenty to Duncan found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. **

"Confundus." Muttered Margaret and Duncan

**While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. **

"**Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you **_**this badly?" Dudley asked Harry and Duncan in amazement. **

"_Harry: the whole wizarding world. Me: Maggie and …"_ Duncan thought, but he trailed off, realizing that he was a loner when he was at the Dursley's, not that it was much of a difference when he was a smaller child.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. **

"Not good." Harry, Duncan, Belloc, Isabel, Kenny and Jenna muttered.

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

Dean looked wide-eyed at the book.

"**no damn letters today —" **

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one and Duncan threw himself on the floor imitating his cousin — **

"**Out! OUT!" **

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall, and he picked Duncan and threw him.**

All the people minus Duncan looked aghast.

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. **

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" **

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue.**

"Cowards." Said Belloc

**Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"He actually tried to pack all that?" asked Izzy. "He is a dumbass." She said. Duncan's eyes sparkled with amusement.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. **

"**Shake 'em off…shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"Moody, we have found you a boyfriend" teased Tonks. Moody glared at the Auror.

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer. **

"Welcome to my world, _dear_ cousin Dudley." Growled Duncan darkly. Belloc silently agreed.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley, Harry and Duncan shared a room with triplet beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but the other children stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… **

"Who was the letter's writer and why was so insistent." Duncan answered to the questioning looks.

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. **

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter or Mr. D. Rosenblatt? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." **

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: **

_**Mr. H. Potter **_

_**Room 17 **_

_**Railview Hotel **_

_**Cokeworth **_

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared. **

"Don't stare, DO something!" yelled Jenna, tired of the abuse towards her friend and his friend's cousin.

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. **

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. **

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" **

"Even Dudley noticed" said Snape (sorry I forgot he was there)

**Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. **

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled. **

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a **_**television**_**." Monday. This reminded Harry and Duncan of something. If it **_**was **_**Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday, and then, Wednesday, was Duncan's.**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Belloc, Isabel, Kenny and Jenna all shouted suddenly.

"You…you scared me you idiots." Said the boys, panting and clutching their chests. "And it's not my birthday."

"Yeah, but still." Said Isabel. Duncan smiled kindly to them

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year; the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. Still, you weren't eleven every day. **

"_I'll have to reward Duncan for every birthday that I missed_." Thought Belloc idly, not realizing he had spoke aloud

"Yeah, not to mention Christmas, my Saint Day, and many others_."_ Duncan said, chuckling

"Of course…wait a second…" Belloc realized and glared at Duncan who smiled mockingly.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**

"I don't like that."

"I concur." Responded Duncan

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. **

"Oh crap…" Belloc heard his son's voice.

"Youonly can come up with that?_"_ he grinned. Duncan looked astounded then amused. Seemed like his Dad was on his side after all.

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" **

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. **

"You have got to be kidding me…" muttered Jenna slowly.

"It can't be serious"

"WHAT?! I mean…what?"

**One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

"Not the time for jokes, boy." Snapped Margaret icily. Duncan turned at the word "boy" quickly. Too quickly. Belloc's eyes narrowed.

"_We will definitely talk later_." He thought.

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" **

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. **

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" **

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**

Hermione conjured a blanket and put it over Duncan and Harry

"What was that for?" Harry asked bemused

"You kept saying that you are cold."

"That was five years ago, but thanks anyway." Duncan said and cuddled up a bit.

**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. **

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. **

All the people in the room looked appalled at that house.

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and five bananas.**

"Those aren't rations!" said Kenny angrily.

"One second…You couldn't eat it." Belloc realized. Duncan nodded. "It doesn't matter, I am used to it." It was the wrong thing to say.

"USED TO IT?!"

"DUNCAN, THEY STARVED YOU!"

"I BET THEY KNEW ABOUT IT!"

"THAT SICK PEOPLE!"

"I AM GOING TO KILL THEM!

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. **

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully. **

"Or use me" said Duncan dully

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Duncan privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. **

Remus scowled, agreeing.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket. Duncan was the same, except with no blanket at all.**

Another blanket was added, this time from Grace.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry and Duncan couldn't sleep. They shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, their stomachs rumbling with hunger.**

Belloc looked livid at his son's lack of warmth, food and comfort. The others weren't very good either.

**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. **

"**Damned Kaiju listening." Thought Duncan. He couldn't sleep, and now the noises of the thunderstorm made him shiver and cover his ears. He then joined his cousin.**

"You were afraid of a storm?" asked Jenna incredulously.

"Afraid of the house collapsing." Duncan corrected. "_And the thunders_." He mentally added

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. **

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? **

"_I _am having flashbacks about when you picked me up of that party. The same sound." Whispered Duncan dryly. Belloc scowled.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds…twenty…ten…nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him**

"Do it, Har, do it." Sang Duncan

— **three…two…one… **

**BOOM. **

All of the readers jumped in fright at Isabel's sudden shout. They gave the girl death glares.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Duncan growled in surprise. Someone was outside, knocking to come in. **

"And that's the end of the chapter. What a cliffy one." Commented Isabel.

Belloc suddenly remembered something "Son, can I have a word with you?" he asked. Duncan nodded and followed him apprehensively.

Duncan stared at his Dad.

"I – "

"Duncan, don't speak." said Belloc quietly.

Duncan looked at his father curiously. Belloc seemed to be slightly shaking with rage. Duncan was at a loss of what to do. This was a few years ago. They didn't exactly locked him up like this all the time anymore. And living in a cupboard wasn't that much of a big deal.

"_It __**is**__ a big deal, Duncan_"

He jumped; it was though as if Belloc had read his thoughts. When he saw him nod, his blood ran cold as he realized that he won't be able to hide anything from his father.

"_You don't have to speak if you don't want to. Just keep thinking, I want nothing but the truth of what happened, at the Dursley and your childhood. Don't try to twist anything; I will know if you are lying_."

Duncan hated to do that, it was against his most basic instincts, but he had to.

And what if Barnes had abused him? He had nowhere to go; no one would want to help him. With the Dursley the abuse was verbal, and neglect, it was much better, and he had Harry.

Duncan stopped there. He knew that's why he hadn't returned, his cousin needed him, but also he had his friend. He opened his eyes and stared insecure at his father. Belloc was frozen with horror. How could this have happened? It wasn't supposed to be like this. Duncan was just a child! He, Belloc, should have been there.

"I am like that, Dad, and I am fine now. Sorry for keeping that from you." Duncan sighed.

"I understand why you did. When we finish these books I will kill Barnes at once." Duncan knew he would. "And I will have a talk with your mother, too. All that happened isn't your fault, you know"

Duncan was about to respond when they heard screaming in the other room. They rushed towards it, and they saw a girl.

She was like sixteen-years-old, she had curly brown hair and green eyes

"Whoa, you have grown, eh, Fire-boy?" she said. Duncan could only stare in shock.

"Maggie…?"

**I just wanted to say two things: One, everybody who read this fanfic, please ANSWER ALL THE QESTIONS! It will make my life easier.**

**Two: I won't be able to update that faster because it began just for fun, and I started it doing the vanishing glass and the letters from no-one before I started to think about HPFB RTB as a fanfic.**

**Pop question of this chapter: Which pairings do you want to have?**

**REVIEW!**


	6. The Keeper of the Keys

**I don't own HP or FB, I only own Maggie Kent. Enjoy the chapter.**

"Is that you?" Duncan said in a raspy voice. Maggie nodded. Duncan suddenly was engulfed in a hug for his friend.

"I'm so sorry…" he said.

"I have already forgiven you, Dun" smiled Maggie, pulling him back. She stared at him and noticed the changes. His friend was really tall and his skin was scaly, he had his hair in a strange hairstyle with gel, and his eyes were sparkling, she hadn't seen them sparkle since the end of his fourth year, but they were. Sparkling like mad, the color reminded her of amber. So pretty…

Duncan stared at the girl with emotions running inside him like a hurricane. Happiness, relief, surprise and…

Suddenly the goblets of all the students caught fire. Duncan blushed incredibly as "Aguamenti!" was Heard across the Hall, and Maggie, realizing where she was, stared.

"You should introduce me." She said.

"Yeah, you're right." Duncan said and Maggie looked at the rest of the people.

"Maggie, the brown-haired girl is Isabel, my friend. The black-haired boy, the pale one is Kenny Rogers, the blonde girl is Jenna, another friend, the short-haired woman is my mom, you know my cousin Harry…" Duncan was saying gesturing at each one. Maggie waved at Harry, and she smiled nervously when she saw Margaret.

"_I thought Duncan was an orphan like Harry_" she thought

"And, finally, the blonde man is my dad"

"What is going on here?" said Maggie

They explained what had happened so far. Maggie looked grim but curious.

"We were about to read the fourth chapter" finished Margaret.

"May I?" said Maggie. He started to read.

**CHAPTER FOUR **

**THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS **

**BOOM. **

Everyone jumped at the loud yell.

Maggie, sensitive eardrums." Said Duncan, his ears ringing. Maggie sent him an apologizing look.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. **

All of them were chuckling.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands**

"He is with a rifle near children!" yelled Minerva. Maggie was shell-shocked

"Guns…I hate guns." Muttered Duncan, wincing.

"I agree." Belloc mumbled

– **now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. **

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" **

"Don't we all are?" asked George

**There was a pause. Then — **

**SMASH! **

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. **

What a great entrance." Commented Kenny.

**A giant of a man**

Maggie stared at Belloc.

"Not me. And I am not so big, I am tall"

"Yeah right" Duncan chuckled

**was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair. **

"Duncan I love your descriptions" chuckled Ron

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. **

"W-O-W" said Maggie.

**The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all. **

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" **

"Typical Hagrid" said Minerva fondly.

"Filthy halfbreed" thought Umbridge

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. **

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger. **

"GO HAGRID!" yelled the Weasleys.

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. **

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant. **

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but you've got your mom's eyes." **

"First time I heard it" smiled Harry

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. **

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" **

"Like it would be stopping Hagrid" chuckled Hermione

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant; he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. **

The females minus Umbridge sighed in relief that the gun was gone.

"_**Wow, how strong**_**" thought Duncan startled**

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. Duncan smirked. **

"**And you are…?" the giant asked Duncan. **

"**Duncan Rosenblatt, sir. Harry's cousin." He said.**

"**Margaret's child, eh?"**

"**Yep" he smiled**

"**Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." **

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **

**Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing. **

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Harry! Manners!" scolded Mrs Weasley-

**The giant chuckled. **

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." **

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm, and then he did the same to Duncan. **

"Ouch" muttered the fair-haired teen, rubbing his arm.

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. **

"I will never need that spell" grinned Duncan.

**It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. **

"**Woah" breathed Duncan in awe.**

"When you were a child you were really easy to impress." Commented Belloc. Duncan glared, but had to admit that was true.

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." **

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." **

"GO HAGRID!" yelled this time Ron and Hermione

**Duncan chuckled.**

**He passed the sausages to Duncan, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but Harry still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." **

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course.**

"Er — no," said Kenny

"This will be good." Grinned the twins

"**Er — no," said Harry. **

**Hagrid looked shocked. **

"**Sorry," Duncan said quickly. **

"Why are you apologizing?" asked Margaret.

"Old habits, I suppose"

"**Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yehr cousin's parents learned it all?" the last part was to Duncan **

"**All what?" asked Harry. **

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!" **

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. **

"**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boys — this boys! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?" **

**Duncan thought this was going a bit far. They had been to school, after all, and their marks weren't bad. **

"Something that Hagrid and I have in common: we don't care about it" said Belloc dryly

"Well, I do" retorted Margaret. Duncan made signs to continue before his parents started arguing.

"**We know some things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." **

**Duncan seemed puzzled.**

"He had said "parents" in plural. And he was addressing both of us" Explained Duncan

"**What world?" **

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. **

"Not good" said Charlie

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed. **

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at the cousins. **

"**But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." **

**Duncan chuckled, his father surely was…not "famous", more like "wanted".**

"True." Said Belloc

"**What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" said Harry**

"**Yeh don' know…yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. **

"**Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally. Duncan's face changed to something similar to utter disbelief.**

"He was talking about us. Us two. About what we were. You know how much that freaked me out?!" said Duncan a bit hysterically. Belloc burst out laughing.

"I can imagine"

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. **

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!" **

"He is Hagrid, he can't stop him" said Ginny

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. **

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?" **

"**Kept what from me?" said Harry eagerly. **

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. **

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. **

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry, Duncan — yer wizards." **

"Straight to the point!"

"Finally!"

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. **

"**I'm a what?" gasped the boys.**

"Good reactions!" laughed Lee

"**A wizard, o' course,"**

"A halfbreed of course" said Belloc without realizing it. Only Duncan heard him.

"I know it Dad."

**said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." **

"YAY!" yelled Ginny suddenly and then turned into a Weasley red.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter/Mr. D. Rosenblatt, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read: **

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) **

**Dear Mr. Potter/Rosenblatt, **

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. **

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. **

**Yours sincerely, **

**Minerva McGonagall, **

**Deputy Headmistress **

**Questions exploded inside Duncan's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first.**

**After a few minutes Harry stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"THAT was your first question?" asked Ron.

"Strange, they don't mention my first question" said Duncan

"Which was…"

"Are you mental?"

Belloc chuckled

"Mine was: there are a lot of books in the Wizarding World?" said Harmione. Ron, Harry and Duncan chuckled

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl — a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down: **

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore, **_

_**Given Harry and Duncan their letter. **_

_**Taking them to buy they things tomorrow. **_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. **_

_**Hagrid **_

"How can you read Hagrid's handwriting upside down? I can't read it in whatever direction!" said Ron

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone. **

**Duncan realized Harry's mouth was open and he pulled his lower jaw, closing it quickly. **

The cousin's friends chuckled and Duncan grinned sheepishly at Harry.

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. **

"**They're not going," he said. **

Belloc grunted

**Hagrid grunted. **

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. **

"**A what?" said Duncan, curious. **

"Of course you were curious, you are Duncan!" said Hermione. Duncan glared at her.

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." **

"Both literally and figuratelly." Said Gonny angry

"**We swore when we took them in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"**

Dumbledore closed his eyes. _Arianna…_

Duncan noted that Belloc was glaring at the book with such and intensity that it was surprising that it hasn't caught fire yet. (pun intended) "_Just don't speak, Dad, or we will be doomed_"

"**You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a — a wizard?" "Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! **

"Lily was NOT a freak!" surprisingly Margaret and Snape shouted.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" **

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"Probably" said sadly Margaret. She had stopped talking with her oldest sister after she had turned her back at Lily. Harry's mother and her had always kept in contact, but Margaret lost it when Duncan was born…

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —abnormal — and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!" **

"That's how you found out?" said Flitwick shocked. The boys nodded

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" **

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently. **

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. **

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'." **

"Can you imagine if you did?" Bill said.

"Well I still didn't like all the looks I was getting." In unison all those who stared blushed and turned away after muttering:

"Sorry Harry".

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. **

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…" **

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —" **

"**Who?" **

"Almost there, you just forgot the 'You-Know'" Fred said, trying to make a joke to relive tension.

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

"**Why not?" said Duncan**

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Duncan, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went…bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" **

"Hang on! Fred I bet a Galleon he doesn't say it!" George cried.

"No way, he'll say it!" Protested Fred. They pulled out a parchment and scribbled 'Bets' on the top.

"Any others?" Called George. Lee and Jenna voted for yes against George, Bill, and Charlie.

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. **

"**Could you write it down?" Duncan suggested. **

"**Nah — can't spell it. All right —Voldemort. "**

"Yes!" Cried the triumphant trio.

"Pay up please?" Jenna said in a fake sugary voice sticking her hand out. George, Charlie and Bill groaned and deposited the Galleons while Fred tucked the parchment away for later.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches…terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. **

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before…probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. **

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em…maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —" **

Harry stared at the table as the girls in the Hall tried not to cry, Duncan was blinking furiously, and some guys even rubbed their noses, mock nonchalantly.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. **

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa… **

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts — an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." **

Everyone was looking at Harry again til he yelled:

"For the love of Merlin, stop staring at me!" Everyone minus Snape and the Ministry officials jumped.

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. **

**Those who had heard the laugh in first person (Snape, Duncan and Harry) shuddered.**

**"**You remembered that Harry?" Asked Hermione tearfully. Harry nodded.

"And last June just reinforced it."

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…." **

"Wish I didn't" grumbled Hagrid.

"It's all right Hagrid, it's in the past."

"Also, if you hadn't brought him, I wouldn't know him" said Duncan. Harry smiled.

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. **

As did most of the Hall

**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. **

"**Now, you listen here, boys," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured **

The Hall roared into an outrage.

"Harry he didn't!" Screamed most everyone. Harry shuddered back.

"Stop yelling!" Duncan shouted.

— **and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion **

"That bloody motherfucker!" Belloc and Remus said, forgetting the children in the Hall.

"How dare that son of a fucking bitch say that!"

"Belloc! Sirius!" Cried Mrs. Weasley.

"What?!" They all but snarled.

"There are children here!"

"So?" said Belloc, but he was saved when Maggie kept reading

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end —" **

"Duncan, we have permission to kill your uncle right?" Belloc snarled. Duncan didn't say anything.

"Who is coming?!" yelled Belloc. Three quarters of the Hall, including Margaret, Ron, Hermione, Isabel, Kenny and Maggie raised their hands.

"Me too!" yelled Duncan before he could stop himself. The entire Hall stared at him.

"I…I mean…I would REALLY like to see it, but since we are reading…" he trailed off.

"We can decide it in the break" said Belloc grinning wickedly.

Harry smiled, he knew of that bloodthirsty that Duncan sometimes had, and he knew that he hated it. Should he tell him that he had felt the same thing with Malfoy? A desire to kill? No, it would be better if he talked to him later. After all, strange things seemed to happen to them since that failed spell…

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…" **

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. **

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. **

**Harry and Duncan, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. **

"No surprises there"

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?" **

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see…he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go? **

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. **

"He did die! He's gone!" Screeched Umbitch.

"No he didn't, he's back." The Evans said matter-of-factly. (Should I say "the Evans" when referring to Harry and Duncan, or I should leave it like that?)

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. **

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — I dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right." **

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"Wait, what?"

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football? **

"Magic doesn't work that way, Harry" said Remus sadly. Snuffles whined.

**Duncan was thinking along the same lines.**

"Duncan, why do you have such a low opinion about yourself?" asked Isabel

"**Hagrid," Harry said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think we can be wizards." **

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. **

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you were scared or angry?" **

**The boys looked into the fire. Now they came to think about it…every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with them had happened when they, Harry and Duncan, had been upset or angry…chased by Dudley's gang, they had somehow scared them and found themselves out of their reach…dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back…the time that Uncle Vernon was yelling at Duncan, he had get his revenge…and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him? **

"_Oh shit. Voldemort's snake __is__ a boa constrictor…"_ Harry muttered. Then he said loudly:

"Uh, Professor Dumbledore? I may have given Voldemort Nagini? Uh, is there any… um consequence for me to have given him a big-ass snake?"

Dumbledore laughed, though he didn't look at Harry, and shook his head. Duncan smirked.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. Duncan's smile was bittersweet. "**_**Great, another thing that proves that I can't be normal**_**"**

The entire Hall looked at him.

"HE HAS A GOOD REASON!" bellowed Harry. The entire Hall looked away from them. Harry noticed smoke coming from his mouth and quickly shut it. What was happening?

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter and his cousin, not wizards — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts." **

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

Cue profanities.

"**Haven't I told you they're not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —" **

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—" **

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. **

"Alright, that was bad." Fred said.

"Bets!" Shouted George.

"Whose gonna be the target for Hagrid's rage? I say Vernon!" Lee shouted. Many agreed with him.

"I say Dudders the pig!" Ginny said. Few agreed with her but the Galleons were placed.

"Hagrid's temper is really nasty" laughed Duncan. "You won't believe"

"Nothing compared as yours" said Ron to the Evans

"If he has my temper, well, his friends will be fine. If he has yours, I fear for their life, but if he had both…" whispered Margaret to Belloc.

"…run for your life" smirked Belloc.

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" **

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers. **

Silence. Then the Hall erupted in raucous laughter as Ginny and her friends collected their money. Duncan, while laughing, noticed a flame coming from his mouth and he had to clap a hand over it.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. **

"Cowards"

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. **

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," **

"Oh my god, but if you did great!" laughed Belloc

**he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." **

Laugh again

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh job." **

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Duncan. **

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

"**Why were you expelled?" **

"Kids, that's personal." Scolded Margaret.

"We found out anyway" said Duncan with a cheeky grin.

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." **

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to the boys. **

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

**************************************************** **************************************And another is over, people! I have test next week so I don't think I would update this faster, but I'll try.**

**Pop question: (though I REALLY need at least TWO pairings to work with) Would you like Harry to become halfbreed-like?**

**Or,**

**Which people would you want to get for the reading?**

**REVIEW!**


	7. Diagon Alley

**Hi readers! Sorry it took me so long, and Thanks for the reviews! I don't own this awesomes movie and books. Enjoy the chapter!**

**CHAPTER FIVE: DIAGON ALLEY **"Malfoy began, before paling a little bit.

**The Evans woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, Harry kept his eyes shut tight.**

**"It was a dream, Duncan told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I and Harry were going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

"Why are you always so pessimistic?" asked Belloc

"Didn't want do get my hopes up." Answered Duncan. The Kaiju King looked taken aback at that.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

"Wasn't a dream" the entire Hall said

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, Duncan was sitting and looking around with his eyes sparkling,**

"Good sign" said Maggie grinning.

**and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak. Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. **

"A balloon" laughed the Weasley twins

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

"What an aggressive owl" commented Isabel

"The Daily Prophet owls? You have no idea" said Neville shuddering

**"Don't do that." Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. Duncan grimaced.**

**"Hagrid!" said Duncan loudly. "There's an owl"**

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**"What?"**

"He won't know what are you talking about." Said McGonnagall

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets - bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

**"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

**"Knuts?"**

**"The little bronze ones." Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

**"Best be off, kids, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." The cousins were turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. Duncan had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"NOT THE HAPPY BALLOON!" Cried Ron and Ginny. Harry chuckled

**"Um - Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money**

"Yes you have. Loads of." Argued Belloc. Duncan had to resist the urge of rolling his eyes.

"Let me reorder it: I hadn't had any money when I was eleven which I was aware of"

**- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "Harry, d'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

**"But if their house was destroyed -"**

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold - an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."**

**"Wizards have banks?"**

**"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." Duncan's mouth dropped and Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

"Again, nice reactions" said Ginny

**"Goblins?" said Duncan**

**"Yeah - so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Duncan. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe - 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." **

**Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts - knows he can trust me, see. Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry and Duncan followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. **

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"Flew?" asked Maggie surprised.

"Flew" confirmed Hagrid

"Flew? Said Fred mischieviously

"Flew" confirmed again Hagrid.

"Flew?"

"All right, the next person that says "flew" is getting hexed!" shouted Duncan. Draco looked a bit pale.

**Flew?" asked Duncan incredulously**

People laughed at that.

**"Yeah - but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." They settled down in the boat, **

"Then how on Earth the Dursleys came back?" Margaret asked.

"Who cares?" said Belloc and Harry at the same time

**Duncan still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"Duncan, it's rude to stare" scolded Margaret and Mrs. Weasley.

"He has a point, though" said Belloc

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving the cousins another of his sideways looks. **

**"If I was ter - er - speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

"Oh, Hagrid" said Sprout fondly

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. **

**"Spells - enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults."**

Duncan and Belloc looked disturbed.

**But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"**

"Nothing good!" yelled the people who believed in the Evans. Umbridge had to restrain herself very hard to not talk back.

"_Disrespect towards figures of authority, violent behavior, strange things happening. Will have to keep an eye under Mr. Rosenblatt Sir and his son._" Umbridge wrote on her list

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

**"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, boys? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"Hagrid, please be a bit more obvious" sighed McGonnagall in exasperation.

**Hagrid," said Duncan, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"**

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

**"You'd like one?" inquired Harry, caughting Duncan's eye for a second.**

The Golden Trio and Duncan grinned at each other.

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid - here we go."**

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Duncan so he could buy their tickets. People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

**"Still got yer letter, Harry, Duncan?" he asked as he counted stitches. They took the parchment envelope out of their pockets.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need." The Evans unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First-year students will require:**

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

"Which we never ever use!" Fred interrupted quickly, with many others nodding.

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

"In case we forget our names –"

"Or lose our clothes while wearing them—"

"Or –"

"We get it, Weasley twins!" McGonagall interrupted, others laughing at the train of thought the twins were going into.

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling**

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

"Did anyone else noticed that the authors had something in their name related to what they were writing about?" Harry interrupted, wanting to see who had paid attention at that time. A few hands were raised, a few people nodded and some agreed out loud, while Hermione and Duncan just beamed at Harry for also noticing.

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**Wand **

**Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set**

**Glass or crystal phials**

**Telescope set**

**Brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"Unless your name is…" the twins started, but the Evans looks made them stop.

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. Harry had never been to London before. Duncan had, once a long time ago. **

"When I was looking for the Dursley's house" said Duncan

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow. **

The Muggleborns sniggered.

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry and Duncan had to do was keep close behind him. **

Cue laugh.

**They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? **

"They had no sense of humor, remember?" said Maggie winking at Duncan. The Prince smirked at his green-eyed friend.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, the cousins couldn't help trusting him.**

"Yeah, Hagrid has that kind of aura" said Dean Thomas

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. Duncan was already walking towards there. **

"Of course you were impatient" said Margaret.

"Okay, my fault." Said Belloc raising his hand. Duncan chuckled

**The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he, Duncan and Hagrid could see it. **

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. **

"Toothless walnut?!" said Luna chuckling in her dreamy way

**The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"**

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

"Sorry'Arry" said Hagrid

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this - can this be -?" The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"And here it begins" said Harry annoyed. Snape looked surprised. The brat didn't like his fame?

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor." He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. Duncan blinked.**

"Understable" said all the Muggles in there.

**Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand - I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Duncan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed at how his cousin was treated. **

"Somebody who understands me" said Harry kindly

"Anytime, big bro."

**Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. **

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.**

**"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts.**

**" P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."**

**"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" asked Duncan**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," **

"What?!" said Belloc in complete shock. How could that wimp teach _that_ subject in particular?

**muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. Duncan just stared at the man in incredulous shock. **

The Hall just stared at Belloc, who seemed to be trying to mirror Duncan's expression.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on - lots ter buy. Come on, Harry, Duncan." Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash cans and a few weeds. Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh - mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

**"Is he always that nervous?" asked Duncan**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag - never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject**

"He shouldn't teach that subjet then" said Belloc

**now, where's me umbrella?"**

**Vampires? Hags? Duncan's head was swimming. **

As did Isabel's, Kenny's, Jenna's and Belloc's.

**Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, boys." He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley." He grinned at the cousins's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

"Don't try collapsible." Advised Remus. "Get a nasty shock when the cauldron fell and my potion gave all us burns"

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." Harry muttered that he wished he had about eight more eyes. **

"**Why? You have four, I have two, we have Hagrid, eight in total!" laughed Duncan. Harry smacked him on his head.**

"Awwww, Duncan and Harry had a brother moment!" said the twins.

"We have it all the time" said the Evans in synchrony

**They turned their heads in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..." **

"Oh." Molly mumbled, and her kids, after looking at her, realized that the cousins had actually seen her without knowing it.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Duncan's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.**

Duncan and Harry beamed, remembering their first broom.

**"Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was – **

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. **

Belloc made a face of disgust.

"All the Kaiju are pretty ugly, if you ask my opinion" whispered Duncan cheekily. His father glared daggers at him.

**He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

**Enter, stranger, but take heed**

**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**

**For those who take, but do not earn,**

**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**

**So if you seek beneath our floors**

**A treasure that was never yours,**

**Thief, you have been warned, beware**

**Of finding more than treasure there.**

"I love that poem" said Luna

**"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid. **

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid , Harry and Duncan made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, Sir?"**

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. **

"Ugh, he won't like it" grimaced the eldest of the Weasleys.

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen." The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!" Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Duncan asked.**

"And the curiosity starts," Snape muttered, Belloc looking over at him with a slight glare. He couldn't wait to hear his son's opinion about this git, that's sure.

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

"Should've just told him, Hagrid." Remus muttered, shaking his head, not knowing how right he was about that.

**Griphook held the door open for them. Duncan, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in - Hagrid with some difficulty - and were off. At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. The Evans tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. **

"The fact that you remembered that much anyways is still impressive, kids." Moody said from the back, having moved from the front to get a better view on everyone.

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "What's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. Duncan chuckled "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick." He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid. All Harry's - it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking.**

Remus, Snuffles and Belloc growled at the mention of the Dursleys.

**How often had they complained how much Harry and Duncan cost them to keep? **

"W-What? They didn't ever gave you clothes!" screeched an angry Jenna.

**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough." "Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

**"One speed only," **

"Love the Gringotts carts" grinned Duncan and Harry.

"You are crazy" said Hermione and Neville

**said Griphook. They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Duncan leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom,- but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck. **

"Did you have a death wish?!" asked Margaret

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

"Cool."

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

"Awh."

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Duncan asked.**

**"About once every ten years," **

Everybody minus two persons (guess who they are) looked disturbed at that.

**said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly,**

As did everyone else who was listening to the book.

**- expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least - but at first he thought it was empty. **

"What?" Many people exclaimed, confusion clouding their thoughts.

**Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. **

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid. One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life - more money than even Dudley had ever had. Duncan was happy for his cousin, and grateful that he allowed him to take money too.**

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. **

Malfoy paled once more at hearing this, and Ron, having heard about the incident on the train, chuckled.

**"Listen, Harry, Duncan, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron?"**

"HAGRID!" Many of the older females exclaimed, shaking their heads.

**"I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so the cousins entered Madam Malkin's shop, feeling nervous. Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here - another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. " In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," - said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." Duncan raised an eyebrow.**

"Definitely a Malfoy. Especially by considering how pale Draco is." Remus snorted, while many of the Gryffindors just laughed.

**Duncan was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

"DON'T-COMPARE-ME-TO-HIM!" yelled the white-haired boy.

"Shut up Ferret"

**"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry and Duncan together.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," they said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"Harry, James would had a heart attack if he hear it" said Remus

**"I do - Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"**

**"No," said the cousins, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

"No one knows in which House is going to be" said Tonks sharply

**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been - imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

Many of the Hufflepuffs glared at Malfoy for saying this, knowing by now he was the one in the book.

**"Mmm," said Harry, and Duncan stayed silent, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at the cousins and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

"That's so sweet Hagrid" Margaret beamed at him. The semi-giant blushed

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't.**

**"He works at Hogwarts." Added Duncan**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"NO HE ISN'T!" yelled the Gryffindor table

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second, and, by the looks that Duncan was giving him, he agreed.**

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"That was James and Sirius trying to pull a prank on him. It backfired horribly. Story for another time" said Lupin, seeing the look Gonny was giving him

**"I think he's brilliant," said Duncan coldly.**

**"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. **

"**Not with me anymore" said Duncan curtly. **

Duncan immediately started apologizing, but his parents dismissed it.

"You really like to tell half-truths, don't you?" said Kenny. Duncan nodded

**He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"**

The Great Hall was completely silent at that question, choosing to either glare at Malfoy, or grimace at the rudeness of the question itself.

Severus shook his head, before putting it in his hands, wondering where his own godson's tact came from.

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." Said Harry. Duncan stayed silent once more. **

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families." At that point Duncan's eyes seemed to had caught fire.**

"Not a good sight" winced Harry, Ron, Hermione, Kenny and Isabel.

**What's your surname, anyway?"**

By now, even more people were glaring at Malfoy.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Duncan cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. **

"The simplest things amuse you" said Hermione fondly.

"It's a gift" Duncan grinned

**When they had left the shop, Harry said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, kids, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know - not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

"Don't make them feel worse" said Flitwick

**"Don't make us feel worse," said Duncan. Harry told Hagrid about the pate boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."**

**"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were - he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. **

"**But I am from a Muggle family." Retorted Duncan**

"From a Muggle mother, mind you" said Belloc looking a bit offended.

"What I was supposed to say?!" asked Duncan with his hands raised in surrender.

**Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles - look at yer mums! Look what they had fer a sister!"**

"True" said Snape and Margaret blushed at that. Duncan, Harry and Belloc growled at Snape. Duncan looked at Harry and froze: his usually green eyes were of a metallic grey.** "**_What's this?_**"**

**"So what is Quidditch?"**

**It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like - like soccer in the Muggle world –**

"HA!" said Dean to Ron. Ron scowled

**everyone follows Quidditch - played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls - sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"**

"OI!" Many of the Hufflepuffs shouted, not thrilled with how everyone disregarded their house.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.**

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

**"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" asked Duncan**

"Why did you keep saying You-Know-Who and not Voldemort?" Hermione interrupted, curious as to what changed.

Shrugging, Harry answered, "I figured it's what everyone did, and I didn't even want to be more different, or make anyone uncomfortable, despite wanting to say his name." Hermione nodded, fine with that answer before waiting for Malfoy to continue.

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. They bought the cousins's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Duncan looked really pleased. **

"You sounded like a male Hermione" said Ron, an received two smacks for Hermione and Duncan.

"Or I like to read" retorted the fair-haired teen.

**Hagrid had to pick Duncan up and walk away with him over his shoulder to keep Duncan away from the Mind section, **

All the Hall laughed at this while Duncan invented a new shade of red.

**and almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian. **

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." Harry said**

Many people laughed here.

"**And I, how to know things that they didn't told me. Mind reading" said Duncan**

"I have to say: good idea" said Ron

"Told you" grinned Duncan.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for the cousins, Duncan himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and Harry examined minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

"I'll have you know, before I met the Potions Master, I was actually interested in Potions." Harry scowled at Snape, who flinched, realizing his grudge against Potters was at his fault. But he wouldn't apologize, that's for sure.

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked the cousins's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." Harry felt himself go red, and Duncan too, knowing that his birthday was the day after.**

**"You don't have to -"**

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at - an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing, and Duncan carried a beautiful ink-black owl.**

Duncan and Harry smiled, remembering Finem and Hedwig.

**They couldn't stop stammering their thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

They growled at the thought of being compared to him.

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." A magic wand... this was what Harry and Duncan had been really looking forward to.**

"We all look forward to it, mate. That and Flying practice," Ron laughed while Harry shrugged and nodded in agreement.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; Duncan swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the backs of their necks prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

Everyone stared in shock at the Evans, who could only stare in confusion.

"What?" asked Duncan

"Duncan, only really powerful wizards can feel secret magic like that." Maggie said gently

"Oh." Harry said

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped and Duncan gasped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

Hagrid blushed at this.

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. **

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"And that's where..." Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.**

**"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..." He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, and Duncan's consternation, Ollivander spotted him.**

"**I don't know who are you"**

**"D-Duncan Rosenblatt, sir. Harry's cousin" said Duncan**

"Nervous?" said Fred

"Very"

"**You definitely seem like one of a kind. Strange, I never knew that Lily had another sister."**

"**Well, my mum's a Muggle, maybe that's it." Said Duncan nervously. Thankfully Ollivander spotted Hagrid. Duncan sighed in relief.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. **

**"Er - yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sit," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

Everyone laughed, knowing they had already seen Hagrid produce magic three times in the book, and more times sure to come soon.

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now - Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er - well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. **

"EH?!" blurted out Belloc. Many people stared at him, but he glared at the and they looked away.

**No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." **

Harry looked confused at this, as did Duncan.

"Then why can we use each other's wands really well?" He asked, looking at Minerva and Fillius, who also looked shocked.

"Is this another thing I can't know?" Harry asked bitterly, and all the members of the Order that were present, flinched.

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave." Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -" Harry tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"Huh, strange" muttered Jenna

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. **

**Hagrid whooped and clapped, Duncan cheered and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious.."**

"What's curious?"

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar." Harry swallowed.**

Complete silence.

"Harry, it doesn't matter. That doesn't determine who you are. You make your own decisions" said Remus. Harry looked relieved at that

**Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great." Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much.**

**Now it was Duncan's turn.**

"**I am left-handed sir." Said Duncan.**

"But…you write with your right hand." Said Isabel confused.

"Yes, but I am much more capable to cast spells and all that with my left hand" smiled Duncan

**"Right then, Mr. Rosenblatt. Try this one. Beech and dragon heartstring. Twelve inches. Quite whippy." Duncan took the wand and (feeling really foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Ten inches. Quite flexible. Try -" Duncan tried - but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no -here, pine and unicorn hair, seven inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." Duncan tried, but it didn't worked.**

"**Why not this one, an unusual combination: elm and phoenix feather, nine inches, a powerful wand." **

**Duncan took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red, orange and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

**Harry clapped and cheered, as Hagrid did.**

**He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Duncan, Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry and Duncan didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; Duncan didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap, the same with the ink owl in Duncan's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Duncan only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. He bought Harry and Duncan a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. **

**"You all right, kids? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid. Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life – and yet – he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

"**Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry – I mean, the night my parents died." **

"And I sure as hell don't know why people think I would want to do anything on the day they died." Harry mumbled, remembering all of the Halloween fests he's wanted to miss.

"**I am not even famous, or special, or…or anything… I am just a boy, I can't do it." Duncan sighed.**

Belloc stared at Duncan with an unreadable expression.

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' you worry, boys. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts - I did - still do, 'smatter of fact." Hagrid helped the cousins on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. "Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September - King's Cross - it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, they'll know where to find me... See yeh soon, boys."**

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"We will have a break of one hour and the we will have dinner and then we will read a bit more." Said Dumbledore. Duncan looked up and he saw Harry, his parents and Maggie looking at him.

"Great. A bit of questioning. Great" he sighed.

**Another one is over, guys! R&R!**

**Pop question: Would you like Snape to hate Duncan as well as Harry?**


	8. Break part one

**I do NOT own HP or FB, I just play with the characters.**

When Dumbledore said they were going to have a break, Harry immediately grabbed Duncan by the arm and dragged his cousin away from there.

"_We need to talk in private_" he thought

"_How is that we still do that_?"Duncan asked. Nobody knew about their mental connection. It was part of them, hide so deep that even Snape hadn't noticed it.

"Dunno, but I have something to ask you." Harry said as they hide in a classroom. "I have starting doing... weird things, kinda like the Kaiju things of yours. Exactly like yours. Change the color of my eyes (from green to grey), I can breathe fire," saying this, Harry exhaled and Duncan saw, shocked, than a long flame came out from his mouth. "And I am under a glamour that hides my skin." Harry put off the glamour and Duncan saw, shocked, that Harry had a scaly skin, so much like his own, except it wasn't orange.

"Since when?"

"The eyes, since that messed up spell that made us that connection. The fire breath, since September, the skin, it was gradual, so I learned some glamours in case." Harry answered. "Can I be changing into a…?"

"NO!" shouted Duncan suddenly. "NO! You can't be!" shouted him desperately. This was bad, this was bad, this was really, really, REALLY bad. The others couldn't know that Harry was like him, just like he had been before his Dad…

"Oh no. Oh no no no no no."

"What's wrong, Dun?"

"Do you remember the day we did it?"

"Yeah…of course…

_In the middle of third year, Harry was in the library, finishing homework with Ron and Hermione. A movement to his right caught his eye and he looked over; a very familiar figure had stepped into his peripheral vision, reaching up to examine the crooked case of books that stood against the wall, close to the desk Harry and the others were working at._

_Duncan Rosenblatt scanned the shelves twice and then sighed, looking put out. He turned and looked over towards Nico D'Kiaro, who he had been working with._

_"Nico," he called, voice low. "Do you know who's got the Mindworks text?"_

_Nico shook his head in response just as Harry's face broke into a grin: the copy of the book in question was currently sat in front of him being ignored. Oh, it would annoy his favourite cousin…_

_Duncan turned back to the shelf with a frown. He continued to look in vain, with badly hidden impatience, before sighing explosively as he concluded that the book he needed definitely wasn't there. Scowling, he looked around, and then his gaze fell on Harry, who immediately picked up the book he hadn't been taking notes from, waving it helpfully._

_Duncan rolled his eyes and shot a half-hearted growl at Harry who stuck his tongue out in reply._

_"Who're you pulling faces at?" Ron asked, twisting round in his seat to follow Harry's gaze. Comprehension dawned on his freckled face as he saw Duncan hovering by the bookcase, one orange hand still resting on the shelf. He turned back to Harry and rolled his eyes, wearing his now familiar I-can't-believe-you-two-are-fighting-again expression._

_Harry ignored him and looked back to Duncan, who was glaring unashamedly at him. "_Give me the book_," he mouthed as Harry watched._

_Raising the book, Harry feigned surprise, pointing at the cover. "_This book_?" He mouthed back and Duncan rolled his eyes again before nodding._

_Tapping his chin in mock thoughtfulness, Harry took a deep breath in- and then let it out, shaking his head sadly._

_"You damned human," Duncan mouthed at him and Harry chuckled, turning back to Ron._

_"Come on then, let's get it over and done with so we can say we've done it, and then we can go back to doing nothing." Duncan's scowl deepened_

_Hermione shot him a look that was somewhere between exasperated and amused and shook her head, but didn't say anything. Harry climbed to his feet, Ron following suit, yawning widely._

_"So it's Legillimens Exportai?" he asked and Harry nodded._

_"Sounds about right."_

_"Sounds about right," Ron repeated incredulously. "You're about to get the Evans temper and sounds about right'?"_

"_Hey, it's Duncan who wanted to do research into the mind area. I just picked up the book, you know, just to annoy him, and really-hey!_

_Harry whipped around as out of the corner of his eye he saw Duncan dart forwards and away from the bookcase, his amber eyes fixed on the book Harry had refused to give him. Without thinking, Harry lunged sideways towards the smaller boy and fastened his fingers around both of Duncan's bony wrists, jerking him away from the book before his fingers could even touch it. To hell with the fact he didn't even need it, he wasn't about to let his younger cousin get one over on him, not now, not ever. He barely heard Duncan's noise of protest and indignation before there was a crash, a shriek and a shout of 'HARRY! DUNCAN!'_

_Stumbling and tripping over Duncan's feet, he whipped around; the boy's arms held so tightly in his grip that they were almost chest to chest, just in time to see a ball of blue light heading directly towards his face._

_He had a split second to contemplate just how badly this was going to hurt, and then there was pain, a muffled scream, followed by nothing._

_They awoke in the Hospital Wing, but they didn't have anything so they leaded towards their common room, without speak or think anything. Harry felt his head funny. It really was uncomfortable, Harry noted, whatever had gone on in his head. He could feel something - a sort of presence - in his mind that he hadn't always been aware of. As a matter of fact- he wasn't even sure that he could feel his brain before, but now that was definitely the case._

_It could be worse. It was just an accident and it will probably be fixed with a simple counter charm. I will be kicking Neville's arse for it, mind, but still."__ He thought. He heard Duncan's voice inside his head, and jumped._

"_How you can talk without moving your lips__?" asked Duncan "__How do __**I**__ talk without moving my lips?!__" he realized._

_"What happened to us?" Harry asked uncertainly. He now felt a lot calmer than he had five seconds ago, but it was still a tricky situation nevertheless. "I know I can hear you, but how…?"_

"_The messed-up spell and the book" We have to reverse it, who knows what might happen. C'mon, if we want to fix it, we must see somebody. Come!" Duncan said and he ran, Harry rushing behind him._

_"We can only deduce you two have been bonded via a permanent Legilimency link, rather than the controlled, temporal link it's normally used to practice Occlumency. You can hear each other's thoughts, yes? Well we can fix this," McGonagall said and they both looked at her. "With a potion."_

_Harry looked hopeful but as he glanced at Duncan the feeling faded; for some reason, Duncan was looking almost dismayed._

_No_

_"It's not like a normal bond, or link," McGonagall continued. "It's stronger because of Neville's miscast and the high emotions running at the time. See, when these bonds are created, they're only done by specialists and when the participants are willing and calm. Heaven on Earth knows how Longbottom managed to do it. Also, it feels strange; I never heard of such a strong bond, it is just unnatural."_

_"And that means?" Duncan asked, trepidation written all over his face._

_"That we can't cancel it._

_"WHAT?"_

_Harry stood up and almost immediately fell back as angry thoughts swamped his mind, belonging to both of them._

_"Harry, stop it!" Duncan shouted, his eyes screwed tightly shut. "Calm down! And STOP THINKING I'M A TWAT!"_

_"YOU ARE!" Harry bellowed back. "I am not having you in my head for forever!"_

_"I don't want you in mine, either!" Duncan shouted back. "Get OUT!"_

_"Enough!"_

_Harry would have ignored McGonagall, but she seemed to have known that and flicked her wand at them both, silencing them both and pushing them back into their chairs, which turned around smartly to face her._

_Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. It seemed to work- the pressure of the link or bond or whatever it was receded. He glanced to Duncan who had his eyes shut and was breathing in and out deeply, trying to compose himself as well._

_He was still seething, Harry could tell, but he was trying, and Harry was grudgingly grateful. _

_"We might never be able to reverse it, it is NOT natural, not normal, and if we try we could cause damage," McGonagall told them._

_"Great," Harry said hollowly. "Just great."_

_"Shut up," Duncan grouched. "This isn't fun for either of us-"_

_Wanker_

_"Stop it!"_

_McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose, breathing out slowly. "You know this kind of mental bond has its advantages if you work at it. They're often used by twins, or even experienced Aurors on field exercises. You can communicate clearly if you develop the skills, and learn to shut out any unwanted thoughts…"_

_She trailed off at the mutinous looks on Harry and Duncan's faces. "__We already can communicate clearly. And we are related, too__" Harry heard Duncan's voice in his mind._

"_No. We **aren't** doing it__."_

_"Oh you know what," she snapped, pulling her biscuit tin back towards her and snapping the lid on. "Grow up, and deal with it. Dismissed."_

_Harry and Duncan glanced to each other briefly then back at her. "What?"_

_"Deal with it," she said sternly, pointing to the door. "You won't listen to reason right now, so go away, act like your age and just deal with it."_

And they did it. And they enjoyed it. And now it seemed to be a bigger problem than they thought at first.

"Harry and I were hit by a bad-spelled spell, which gave us this connection. With the pass of the years, it might have mutated to some kind of…of…Influence Charm or something. It changed us mentally, it was only matter of time it started to do it physically." Reasoned Duncan, having read of the Influence charms. But his…_their_ mind was too complex for humans spells, and now Harry would have to face the same fate as him, if his father find out (_and most sure he will_, thought Duncan bitterly."

"We don't have another option that keep reading those books. Your scent changed since you put off that glamour. It will be only a matter of time. I am sorry" Duncan said

"It was an accident. Come on, I believe that your parents wanted to talk to you." Said Harry

The two cousins walked slowly towards the Hall, where Duncan's parents were waiting. Harry sighed, and he was sure that Duncan and he were thinking the same thing.

_They were so dead._

**Liked it? Hated it? Let me know!**

**Pop question: Would you like som Duncan/Maggie fluff? (I counted the PM's and this is the first pairing, if you want another, review of send me a PM)**


	9. Break part two

**I don't own HP or FB.**

**Just in case...I am writing this with writer's block and when I was supposed to be asleep, I have a maths test tomorrow (hope I pass it, I hate maths...)**

Duncan walked towards his parents while Harry did a hasty retreat, just in case Belloc noticed his new…er…condition. Duncan's head was swimming with the new information, but he decided he would talk to Harry later, he seemed pretty concentrated in a certain Brazilian girl.

Looking around, Duncan saw the new groups of friends and he wanted to roll his eyes. Of course Jenna would be hanging out with Parvati and Lavender, what he had saw in that girl?

Neville, Luna and Kenny were talking animatedly, and Hermione and Isabel were chatting. Duncan suddenly realized something "Please Hermione, you didn't read anything about Kaiju, Isabel will answer at once, and she is perfectly capable to work it out for the little hints…"

He finally reached his parents.

"Did you want to talk to me?" asked Duncan to them.

"We were wondering if you would like to be part of the murder of your relatives…" started Belloc, only to be cut short by Margaret.

"Stop kidding you sadistic." Duncan had to suppress a "Yes I would like to."

"All right, they will live." Said Belloc darkly, Duncan started to grin when he imagined his relatives after his Dad's attack.

"What we were really wanting to talk about, Duncan, "started Margaret, glancing at Belloc to make sure he won't interrupt her, "Is why you didn't told anyone about your father" Belloc looked surprised, apparently he didn't know that the conversation would turn out like this. Duncan frowned, wasn't it obvious?

"I told Harry, it's more than enough." Said Duncan.

"You should tell Ron, Hermione and Maggie. They'll understand." Insisted Margaret.

"And what if they don't? What if they turn their backs at me? You saw how Jenna reacted when she knew the truth. I don't want to lose them; they are my very first friends. Ron would stay away from me; he is a bit discriminatory, although I don't know if he can accept it. Hermione, well she would accept it and try to deal with it. And Maggie…" he trailed off. Maggie had lost his uncle in the battle against the Kaiju, and she was a bit rancorous. He didn't want to lose them, _her_. "The whole school will know eventually, so all that I have to do is wait." He finished. Margaret looked at him ready to try to convince him, but Belloc stopped her. "It's his choice." He muttered between gritted teeth.

Duncan saw Maggie gesturing towards him, and he followed her, missing Belloc's knowing smirk. Margaret was looking alternatively from Duncan to Maggie, and a smile formed slowly in her face.

"Duncan surely wastes no time" commented Belloc

"He is our son, after all. " Margaret said, watching Duncan stop in his way to Maggie. Belloc was sure that he was listening to them. "They will be together, I mean didn't you see his expression when Maggie hugged him? He likes her"

"Or he is a very good friend. But when do you bet they will realize it?" he smirked, seeing Duncan's blush.

"End of seventh year." Said Margaret.

"Oh, come on, this is my son that we are talking about. I say, before we reach fifth year. Two Galleons."

"You are on." Said Margaret playfully and went to McGonnagall, who was calling her. Duncan approached towards his father with a look of disbelief.

"You just bet on my love life?! Are you serious?" asked Duncan

"Nope. And Duncan, try to do it fast, because I don't have two Galleons." Smirked Belloc, sure that he would win.

"Who said I even like her? And even if I did, what makes you think it would go that fast?"

"Easy, I bet against you mother"

"So?"

"Betting against your mother is not called "bet" it's called "invest"." He said and walked away, leaving a VERY confused Duncan behind. His father had talked to him about his love life?! My God, it was so surreal…

Just then Dumbledore said that break was over, so Duncan made his way to the Great Hall. Maggie smiled to him when he sat and Duncan felt a tingle in his stomach.

_Maybe…just maybe…_

"Who is going to read next?" asked Dumbledore

"I will" said Ron knowing this was the first time the Evans and he met.

**I KNOW, it sucks, but I couldn't come with a greater idea...sorry y'all guys, please don't kill me...**

**Pop question: When do you think Duncan and Maggie will start going out?**


	10. The Journey from plataform Nine and thre

**Yeah...it's me again... falling asleep because a night with insomnio...I don't own HP or FB. Enjoy.**

**Did you see the Little buttom at the bottom of the page that says "review"? Click it**

**The Journey From Platform Nine And Three Quarters" **read Ron

**The cousins's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. **

"It ever is?" asked Lee. The cousins didn't responsed

**True, Dudley was now so scared of them he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut them in their cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to them at all. Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while,**

"Ugh"

**it was lucky Harry had his cousin; at least he was someone who would talk to him, although Duncan was very quiet. **

"Sorry" said Duncan, Harry waved it off.

**They kept to their room, with their new owls for company. Harry had decided to call the snowy owl Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. Duncan had decided to name his ink owl Finem, a name he had found in a book.**

"Good names" said Margaret

**Their school books were very interesting. They lay on their beds reading late into the night, Hedwig and Finem swooping in and out of the open window as they pleased. Harry discovered that Duncan was a voracious reader, because he read so fast that his eyes looked blurred. **

"You are definitely your mother's son" said Belloc

**It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because the owls kept bringing back dead mice. **

"Ewwwww, mice!" shrieked Jenna. Duncan rolled his eyes.

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

"I did that too" said the Muggleborns

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he and Duncan went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. Duncan suppressed a snigger.**

The Hall laughed.

**"Er — Uncle Vernon?" asked Harry**

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

"How rude" said McGonnagall

**"Er — we need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

**"Would it be all right if you gave us a lift?" said Duncan**

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.**

"Whoa, you speak English, Parseltounge and Troll" said Ron

**"Thank you." They were about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" **

"Nope, they are illegal" said Cho Chang

**Harry didn't say anything. **

**"Where is this school, anyway?" **

"Scotland" said Hermione

**"I don't know," said Duncan, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. **

**"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

**"Platform what?" **

**"Nine and three-quarters." Repeated Harry **

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

**It's on my ticket." **

**"Barking," **

Snuffles barked.

**said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly. Duncan gave him a look that said: What-the-hell-are-you-doing?**

"I mean, why do you ever bother do be friendly to them?" asked Duncan

**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

"That would be an interesting conversation" sniggered Isabel

**Duncan looked at Harry and he tried to suppress his laughter. Harry and him rushed to their bedroom, closed the door and started to laugh together.**

The entire Hall mimicked their reaction

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep, for Duncan's discomfort.**

"**I understand that YOU don't want to go to sleep, but I DO." Said the "early riser"**

"**We are going to Hogwarts today, you stupid" laughed Harry as he was witnessing a miracle: Duncan's eyes snapped open and started dressing at full speed.**

"HEY! I like to sleep but that is a bit much!" complained said Evans.

"Yeah whatever"

**He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes — he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig and Finem were shut safely in their cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry and Duncan's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting between the boys, and they had set off. They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him, while Petunia did it for Duncan.**

"There is something wrong…" Belloc trailed off.

**The cousins thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. "Well, there you are, boys. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

"Petunia knows!" said Margaret, her eyes blazing.

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. **

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

"Why that…that…" Ginny trailed off.

"**Why that…that…" started Duncan, but Harry could tell he was panicking. **

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. **

**Ignoring Duncan's warning look, he stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts, and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. **

"See? Don't listen to me, your plans fail horribly" said Duncan

**Harry and Duncan were now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, they had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and they had no idea how to do it; they were stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk they could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and two large owls. **

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell them something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. Harry wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten. **

"NO!" said the professors.

"Don't worry, we managed to get there without be seen in the Prophet"

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

**"— packed with Muggles, of course —" **

**Harry and Duncan swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. **

"I am fat?" asked Mrs. Weasley

"You are amazing" said Mr. Weasley.

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an owl. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them, Duncan quickly following him. They stopped and so did the cousins, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

**"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mum, can't I go…" **

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. The cousins watched, careful not to blink in case they missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" **

**"Sorry, George, dear." **

**"Only joking, I am Fred," **

"Good joke" laughed Margaret

**Said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

**There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

**"Hello, dears," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too." **

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose. **

"Oi!" Shouted Ron as people snickered. Harry held up his hands in defense.

"I didn't write this, mate."

"Me neither"

**"Yes," said Duncan. "The thing is — the thing is, we don't know how to —" **

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. **

"Yeah, you'll be fine." Said Fred

"It won't hurt…much" said George

**Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

**"Er — okay," said Harry. "Cm'on Duncan" he called his cousin, who wasn't looking convinced. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. Duncan and Harry looked at each other.**

**They started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — **

It didn't come… " said Duncan

"It did. Eventually." whispered Harry "Only it took a whole year."

**He kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He looked at Duncan and grinned. They had done it. **

The cousins' friends cheered.

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. The cousins pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

**"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh. **

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

"That's me!" said Lee brightly

**"Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. Duncan leaned in curiosity.**

"Lovely." Ron shuddered

**They pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Duncan put Hedwig and Finem inside first and then started to shove and heave Harry's trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. Harry tried to help, but no avail.**

"That really hurts." Said a young Hufflepuff sympathetically.

**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

**"Yes, please," Harry panted. **

**"Oi, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

**With the twins' help, Harry's and Duncan's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. Duncan rolled his eyes "Here we go again…" he thought**

"Way to be tactful." Said Ginny, rolling her eyes

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

**"What?" said Harry. **

**"Harry Potter." chorused the twins. **

**"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."**

"Oh, him?" asked Ron between chuckles

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

**"Fred? George? Are you there?" **

**Coming, Mum." **

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**The cousins sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. **

" '**Oh, him?' Really?" asked Duncan in amusement.**

"Seems like great minds think alike" said Hermione sweetly.

**Harry shushed him.**

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

Around the hall, people laughed while Ron blushed.

**"Mum— geroff" He wriggled free. **

**"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got some fink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

**"Shut up," said Ron. **

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

He's coming now."

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes,and Duncan noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter P on it. **

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

**"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

**"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

**"Or twice —" **

**"A minute —" **

**"All summer —" **

People laughed.

**Duncan chuckled.**

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. **

**"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

**"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. **

**Then she turned to the twins. **

**"Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —" **

"Way to give them ideas." Said Madame Promfrey, remembering the toilet seat

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

**"Great idea though, thanks, Mom." **

**"It's not funny. And look after Ron." **

**"Don't worry; ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

The twins, Harry, Duncan and Ginny sniggered. Ron being the mature young man he was stuck his tongue out at them.

**"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Duncan leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. This turned out to be a very painful mistake.**

Once again, everyone, even Harry, was looking at Duncan, who kept his gaze on the table.

"Why?" asked Maggie venomously.

"Do we have to talk about this now?" mumbled Duncan, so that only his friends heard.

"YES WE DO!" shrieked Hermione.

Duncan groaned and buried his head in his arms, muscles tense. His mumble was muffled against the table and Ron had to lean forward to hear him.

"He says if we read on we'll probably get more information." Said Ron sitting back

Ron's eyes flew across the page.

**This was because of the little fight he had won against Maggie's brother, who went into a rage when he found out that Maggie was a witch and she would study in Beauxbatons.**

"Some fight." Said Ron, looking sick

"FIGHT?!" McGonagall shrieked, sending the death glare to the Headmaster.

"Duncan why-?" began Maggie, completely awe-stroken. Her brother didn't like the idea that she was a witch, but she didn't know about Duncan defending her and fighting him, and Richard was at least five times bigger than Duncan was at that age.

"Later Mags"

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

**"Who?" **

**"Harry Potter!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

This time, Ginny was the one to groan and bury her head in her arms

**"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…" **

**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

**"Poor dear — no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

"You better not have asked him." Growled Hermione, looking up from the book

"We didn't." assured Fred ad George

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

**"All right, keep your hair on." **

**A whistle sounded. **

**"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

**"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat." **

"Never did get that." Mused Ginny, lifting her head.

"Nah, we sent it to the Evans instead." Said Fred

"Thought he could use some cheering up." Said George

"I didn't get it either." Said Duncan, though his head remained on the table. "It got confiscated because Madame Promfrey deemed it unhygienic."

"It was." Sniffed the nurse

**"George!" **

**"Only joking, Mum." **

"Were not." Quipped Ron

**The train began to move. Duncan saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

"Awww" said the twins, dodging a bat-bogey hex, courtesy of Ginny.

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Duncan and Harry grinned to each other, they felt a great leap of excitement. They didn't know what they were going to — but it had to be better than what they were leaving behind. **

"Surely" grinned them

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

**"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat in front to Duncan. "Everywhere else is full." **

Ginny rolled her eyes "Sure."

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

**"Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

"Right," mumbled Ron.

**"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. And who are you?" asked the twin to Duncan.**

"First notice Harry, then comes: and who are you?" said Duncan, realizing that patron.

"**Duncan Rosenblatt, guys. Harry's cousin." Said Duncan **

"**Good to know. Well, see you later then"**

**"Bye," said Harry, Duncan and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Duncan's eyebrows went to the hairline. **

"Way to be subtle, Ron." Seamus snorted

**Harry nodded. **

**"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

**"So that's where You-Know-Who —?" **

**"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

"Ronald! You were told not to ask!" Hermione reprimanded.

"No, she told the twins not to ask." Ron shot back

**"Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

"The killing curse." Whispered Professor Sprout, tears in her eyes.

**"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Duncan, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found Harry. **

"Really?"

"Yeah"

**"Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." **

**"So you must know loads of magic already." **

"Not at all." Said Hermione, smiling innocently at a scowling Ron

**The Weasley's were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

"No they weren't!" shouted Malfoy

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

"Awful." Said Fred

"Despicable." Said George

"Pathetic excuses for Human beings" they chorused. It did nothing to improve Duncan's mood.

**"Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

"**You have a Wizard cousin, mind you" said Duncan.**

"Yeah" Duncan agreed with his past-self

**"Five brothers" said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. **

**"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." **

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep. **

**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, **

"He is." Ron agreed with his past self.

**He hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." **

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. **

**Duncan didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up. **

"I thought he was lying" thought Ron bitterly

**"… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about Harry's parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

**"What?" said Harry. **

**"You said You-Know-Who's name!" **

"Get used to it." Grumbled Harry

**Said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

**"He's not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, **

"You really know me well" said Duncan

**"We just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying them a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." **

**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

"Hermione." Coughed Seamus

"Your mother was the best in her year." Said McGonagall, smiling slightly.

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. **

"BAAAAA!" yelled the twins randomly, earning them some laughs, though tension was still high.

**They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

"Duncan, we weren't quiet, you fall asleep" said Harry.

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

**Harry leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. **

"Huh?" asked a pureblood.

"Muggle chocolate." Said Hermione.

**What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. **

"Whoa, that's a lot" said a tiny Hufflepuff

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

**"Hungry, are you?" said Duncan**

**"Starving," **

**Said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef..." **

**"Swap you for one of these," said Duncan, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

"So polite" cooed Mrs. Weasley

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with, except Duncan and Maggie.**

They smiled at Harry. He smiled back.

**It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron; eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). Even Duncan had tried a bit.**

"Something that I love about magical food, I can eat it without a problem" said the halfbreed, smiling.

"Why is that?" asked Harry

"Dunno, but better for me"

**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

**"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

**"What?" asked Duncan**

**"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."**

"I have hundreds of those. We could exchange sometime" said Remus. Ron nodded enthusiastically.

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

**"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **

**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS **

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, **

**Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. **

"After all the time we spent in the library, it was on a chocolate frog card." Said Ron, shaking his head.

**Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **

Many students sniggered.

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

**"He's gone!" **

"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day." Sneered Malfoy.

**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," **

People laughed as Ron ears turned a brilliant shade of red and Malfoy's cheeks went pink.

**said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. **

**"Help yourself," said Harry. **

**"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"**

"**Not at all" chuckled Duncan at his awe. **

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but the cousins couldn't keep their eyes off them. Soon they had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. Duncan finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. **

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Duncan. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavoured one once." **

"It was gross." Said George, shuddering as he remembered the taste of that particular bean...

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

**"Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

"Yuck!" said most of the younger years

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavour Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

**"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

"Maybe you should consider getting a leash…" said Dean

"**Don't worry" started Duncan**

**"He'll turn up," finished Harry. **

"You were already paraphrasing the Weasley twins?" asked Hermione

"We don't do it on purpose" said the Evans in synchrony

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" He left. **

**"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. **

**"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

**"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

"Hermione!" grinned Ron as the girl blushed.

**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. **

Hermione probably would have slapped Duncan on the arm if he wasn't still so upset.

**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

**"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

Hermione blushed again.

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

**"Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. **

**"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." **

George was rolling around on the floor laughing.

"You-are-so-dead!" hissed Ron through gritted teeth, while his ears glowed.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep. Duncan started cracking up laughing.**

Ron, seeing what was coming next, passed the book to Hermione, who chuckled and started to read.

**"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl, her lips twitching in amusement as she watched Duncan. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" **

**She said all this very fast. **

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. **

Hermione passed it to Ron

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

Who passed it to Duncan

"**My name is Duncan Rosenblatt, and I don't know how you managed to learn ALL the books by heart." He said amazed. **

Who passed it to Harry while the Hall laughed at their antics.

**"Harry Potter," said Harry.**

Back to Hermione

**"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." **

Then to Harry

**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

Then to Ron again, because he wanted to finish this chapter already

**"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me,"said Hermione.**

**"Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, **

The table on the far left erupted in cheers.

**It sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. Duncan frowned; it was obvious that the girl was trying to socialize.**

"Thank you Duncan" said Hermione

"Tell me how you three became friends again, because Duncan was already her friend." Said Dean.

"Again?" asked Ron "I don't recall ever mentioning it."

"I'm sure we'll find out later." Said Harry.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

George grinned "That's obvious, little bro."

Ron scowled.

**"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

**"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

"You wouldn't have survived the first night." Said Duncan, looking up at Ron.

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome." Said him brightly.

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean; You-Know-Who was in?" **

**"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

**"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Duncan, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. **

**"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. **

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. **

"Something about Gringotts?" asked Bill. Ron turned a Weasley red.

**"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

"WHAAAT?!" shouted all who didn't know.

**Harry and Duncan stared. **

**"Really? What happened to them?" **

**"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts,**

**But they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

"Well he wasn't." sniffed Umbridge.

"Wanna bet?" asked the halfbreed cousins.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying. **

**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. **

**"Er — I don't know any." Duncan and Harry confessed. **

"Puddlemere United." said the Evans

**"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait; it's the best game in the world —" **

"YES IT IS!" yelled all the Quidditch fans and players.

**And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. **

**Three boys entered, **

"The ferret and his gorillas." said Ron.

**And Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

"They are"

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

"Bond, James Bond." Said Duncan. Everyone who had an inkling to what he was going on about laughed.

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger.**

"You know that one of my names is Draco, don't you?" asked Duncan sweetly. Ron muttered an apology and Malfoy looked shocked. "As soon I am turning seventeen I am erasing some of my names"

**Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

**"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

"Malfoy!" barked McGonagall.

"No one gets punished for past offences, remember?" said Malfoy, eyeing the irritated Transfiguration teacher warily.

"**And I don't know who are you" Malfoy said to Duncan.**

"**My name is Duncan, Duncan Rosenblatt,Harry's cousin." He said between gritted teeth.**

"**You are his cousin? But Rosenblatt isn't a pureblood surname."**

"**Actually, I have mixed blood" said Duncan coldly. Harry suppressed a snort, getting the private joke.**

"You LOVE telling half-truths. And what private joke it is?" asked Maggie. No response.

**Malfoy turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort.**

"Right you are, Malfoy." Said Harry

**"I can help you there." **

"Cannot." Said Ron loudly

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. **

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. Duncan smiled.**

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. **

If looks could kill, a certain Slytherin would be dead.

**They didn't know what was good for them, either. **

"Malfoy!" surprisingly, it was Snape that snapped

**You hang around with riffraff like the Weasley's and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

**Both Harry and Ron stood up, trying to hold Duncan back. **

**"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair. **

"Gladly." Drawled Malfoy "Which bit?"

**"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

**"Unless you get out now," said Duncan, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

"Since when it has stopped you?" whispered Belloc to Duncan.

"Fair point"

**"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

"What happened? What Happened?" asked Colin Creevy excitedly.

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Probably the only useful thing he's ever done." Muttered Harry.

— **Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

**"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

"**Ron's rat stopped some jerks to bully us" said Duncan, smiling at Hermione. "Nothing important"**

"Nothing important" mimicked the Twins

"You were trying to make friends with her." Parvati said

"And it worked." Smirked Duncan

**"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep." **

**And so he had. **

**"You've met Malfoy before?" **

**"Unfortunately."**

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

**"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. **

"Bewitched my ear." Muttered George.

**My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" **

"Ron! That's rude!" scolded Mrs. Weasley

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" **

"**Hermione, I just explained you…" Duncan started**

**"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

**"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" **

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**He, Duncan and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them. **

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves, Duncan was shaking with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. **

The entire Hall grimaced, remembering their nerves.

**They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry, Duncan?" **

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

**"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

**"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

"I love Hogwarts…" sighed Luna in a far away voice

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. **

**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Duncan and Hermione. **

**"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

**"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. **

"James forgot to do it, and fell abroad, along with the boat" said Remus. Harry beamed at this piece of information.

**They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

**"Oi, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

**"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

"No he's hopped off again." Said Neville.

"He was hiding under the couch this morning." Said Harry.

"Really? Thanks."

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door. **

"That's the end of the chapter." Announced Ron

**Another is over! Soon I will get more chapters I promise! Review, and you will have a cookie!**

**Pop question: What Duncan would see in the Mirror of Erised?**


	11. AN

**There is a poll to vote for the pairings now in my profile!**


	12. The Sorting Hat

**Hi everyone!**

**First of all, responses for my reviewers:**

** 1eragon33 and ww1990ww : Thanks! I'll think about it**

**Rosezelene Ersa: Thank you so much!**

**Guest: I don't think so. I never wrote incest (which IS illegal), and it woiuld be very difficult. Sorry!**

**The Poll: **

**Maggie and Duncan 5**

**Isabel and Harry 5**

**Ron and Hermione 4**

**Kenny and Fred/George 2**

**Hermione and Duncan 2**

**Jenna and Draco 2**

**Isabel and Kenny, Ron and Jenna, Kenny and Hermione, Harry and Daphne, Harry and Hermione ALL 0**

**It will be open for a few more chapters **

**I don't own any of it, except Maggie**

**"The Sorting Hat" **read Remus

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. **

"You are right, Harry" said the Twins

Fred, none of the things you did to cross her were necessary," Alicia said.

"Yes it was, it was really funny, so therefore it was necessary," George said smirking.

Alicia rolled her eyes at them.

**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Duncan could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. **

"She was right about that," Duncan said smiling.

**You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."**

**"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear,**

"How did THAT happened?" asked Jenna. Neville suggered.

**and on Ron's smudged nose. **

**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair and Duncan tried to stay quiet.**

"Neither of them are going to work" said Hermione

**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

**How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron. **

**"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

Ron, you really should stop listing to them," Margaret said.

"They tell the truth every once in a while, so you never know when they're telling the truth or not," Ron said.

"I do" said Duncan. "They tell me the truth the whole time"

"Only because you know when we are lying, Firebreather." Said Fred.

**Duncan's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. **

"And THAT" said Margaret. "I what you get telling your brother a LIE. Loads of nerves" the twins at least had the decency to look ashamed

**He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her, while Duncan was listening with rapt attention.**

"You had to be VERY nervous to listen to her" chuckled Ron. He earned a smack on his face.

**He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. **

"Yeah…that's my fault by the way" said Duncan uneasily

"WHAT?!"

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom. Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

**"What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. **

"Ghosts?!" said Isabel exitedly

**Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**

"Only appreciating the view" said Daphne in a bored tone

**Nobody answered. **

**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."**

The Hufflepuffs smiled

**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair,**

Seamus touched his hair unconsciously.

**with Ron behind him and Duncan beside him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place.**

"It's super" said Hermione

**It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."**

"Wow, how many books did you read?" Dean asked shocked.

"A fair few," Hermione said shrugging

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. **

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Duncan thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing**

"Why would you do that?" Malfoy asked bemused.

"That's what Muggle magicians do," Maggie said.

"Oh, weird,"

— **noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"The hat sang?" Jenna said shocked and then she chuckled shaking her head "I shouldn't be surprised"

_**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

"Wait, Remus, you have to sing" Arthur interrupted as Remus shot him a 'Hell-no' look and started reading again.

_**I'll eat myself if you can find **_

_**A smarter hat than me. **_

_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **_

_**And I can cap them all. **_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head **_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see, **_

_**So try me on and I will tell you **_

_**Where you ought to be. **_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor, **_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **_

_**Set Gryffindors apart;**_

The Gryffindors cheered

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **_

_**And unafraid of toil; **_

Hufflepuff cheer

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **_

_**if you've a ready mind, **_

_**Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind;**_

Ravenclaws' cheer

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means **_

_**To achieve their ends.**_

Silence. Daphne Greengrass looked up and down on her table and started clapping frantically. The others students laughed

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **_

_**And don't get in a flap! **_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**_

"Two Galleons that Duncan is in Slytherin" said Belloc

"You are on. He will be in Gryffindor." Said Margaret. Duncan still had normal clothes, so they didn't know in what house he is.

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song.**

As it was happening in the Hall.

**It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

**"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

Fred and George laughed and the cousins, Ron and Hermione all tensed. Fred could be a bit of a seer?

**Harry smiled weakly and Duncan nodded nervously. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; the cousins didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for them. **

"Then that would be everyone's house." Said Professor Sinistra

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

The Hufflepuff table cheered.

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

**"Bones, Susan!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

"Yeah" They cheered again

**"Boot, Terry!" **

**"RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, **

"Yeahhh" The many Gryffindors in the room cheered, well most of them.

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. **

Molly sighed at her sons' immature behaviour.

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He or Duncan had always been last to be chosen, not because they were no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked them. **

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" **

"Wow, quite a lot of Hufflepuffs this year" Tonks said

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"Yeah" The Gryffindors cheered again

**"Granger, Hermione!"**

"Ha, guess we see that we were right now" Belloc grinned.

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.**

**Ron groaned. A horrible thought struck Duncan, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**

"Calm yourself, Duncan, it won't happen" said Belloc

"You are talking to a book" said Margaret.

Belloc frowned, he had been really into the story

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. **

Augusta shook her head, as Neville blushed.

**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," **

"I won" Charlie grinned at the boy, who tried not to smile

**Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

"No surprises here" said Ron

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last — **

**"Potter, Harry!"**

"Yay, you're turn"

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

**"Potter, did she say?" **

**"The Harry Potter?" **

"Leave him alone, he's not an animal" Isabel snapped

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. **

"It would be uncomfortable" said Neville

**Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

**"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.**

"No, it isn't, just say "GRYFFINDOR!" said Grace

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. **

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that**

Severus looked utterly surprised at that, Potter's son in Slytherin, that one he'd like to see

— **no? Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!" **

"It doesn't matter Harry. You are a Gryffindor, after all" said Remus, and Snuffles barked, erasing Harry's fears. Remus noticed that Duncan was now still wearing that tensed look.

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" **

People chuckled at the twins, who were doing that.

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. **

The persons who had happened it, shuddered.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **

**And now there were only four people left to be sorted. "Rosenblatt, Duncan"**

The Muggles and the Kaiju held their breaths.

**He walked nervously, and before the hat covered his eves, he saw Harry giving him a thumbs-up.**

_**Mmmm ... difficult. Extremely difficult. **_

"You two are really alike" said Maggie

_**You really are one of a kind. Much courage, it is evident. Not have a bad mind, fiercely loyal, a thirst to prove yourself worthy and ... what's this? Not everyone can say that about their father. "**_

"Again with that? Why is so important?" asked Malfoy, confused

"You will see" sang Duncan

**"Tell anyone and I'll burn you." Duncan threatened.**

"What is with you and the fire references?" asked an amused Ginny. Duncan grinned but didn't explain.

**His first thought was "I want a place where I can be accepted" but now he was not sure of his decision.  
"In any house, in any, but not in Slytherin. Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin." Duncan thought desperately.**

"Again: so alike" chuckled Maggie. If Snape was shocked before, it was nothing compared with now. He could have had both of the Evans cousins?

**"**_**Not Slytherin, eh? Sure? You have everything in your head, you have a noble lineage, and Slytherin will lead you on the path to greatness**_**."**

"Greatness? I don't need it at all" huffed Duncan.

"Noble linage? Rosenblatt's a halfblood! What kind of 'noble linage' can he have?" thought Malfoy

**"I beg you. Not Slytherin, not Slytherin"**

Harry, Hermione and Ron all gasped and stared at Duncan. He never wanted to be seen as vulnerable, he never NEVER begs. He must have been desperate.

_**"Well, you'd be fine in SLYTHERIN!" **_

Belloc smirked. "Pay up, Margaret"

**Duncan was completely frozen. "**_**But you better be GRYFFINDOR!"**_

The Gryffindor table roared with cheers, and Duncan felt more relieved. "They accept me. Huff, how good."

"Pay up, husband of mine" said Margaret cheekily. Belloc grumbled something about lift up hopes and handed her the money.

**Duncan felt as if a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. He joined the Gryffindor table, where the twins shouted "We have Rosenblatt!" **

As they were doing now.

**(Duncan learned later that Harry had ask them to do so)**

**He walked over to Harry and sat beside him.**

**"Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table.**

Gryffindor cheers.

**"Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw **

Ravenclaw cheers.

**and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

Gryffindor cheers.

**Harry and Duncan clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry **

The Weasley family minus Molly all darkened

**as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin.**

Slytherin animated by Daphne, clapped and cheered.

**Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

"Nothing" said Dumbledore

**"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

**"Thank you!" **

Cue confused looks

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. Duncan laughed.**

**"Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes.**

"I am" Dumbledore admitted

**Potatoes, Harry?" **

**Harry's mouth fell open and Duncan's eyes bulged. The dishes in front of them were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

Ron's stomach rumbled

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, **

"Define starved" growled Margaret

**but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick. With Duncan he could eat as much as he wanted, but it was rare the times when Duncan could find a prey large enough. **

"Sorry bro"

"You had to eat, Dun"

**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. Duncan piled his plate with meat. It was all delicious. **

**"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

**"Can't you —?" **

**"I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

"Sir Nicholas is cool" Dennis Creevey said

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!" "I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

**"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" **

"You didn´t just say that" said Remus in dismay

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

"He says he hates, but I know he loves it when people ask him that" Minerva rolled her eyes

**"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. **

Jenna looked sickened

**Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! **

"NOOOOOOO!" yelled Charlie and Bill

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry and Duncan looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, they were pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

Harry and Duncan looked happy in the room too. Malfoy scowled.

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

"Stop mentioning the food" Ron moaned, Kenny nodded

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families. **

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "My dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

Snape's face darkened

**The others laughed. **

**"What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."**

"That's horrible! Accidental magic is an accident, they can't force it!" shouted McGonnagall, deciding she would talk to Neville as well.

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, **

Minerva smiled

**you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. **

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. "Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

"What happened?" asked Belloc, glaring at the Potions master.

**"What is it?" asked Percy. **

**"N-nothing." **

"**What is it?" asked Duncan lowlier**

"**My scar hurt"**

"I tell everything to Duncan" Harry grinned, seeing the looks of his friends

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

"Prefer that greasy git teaching the most important subjet, that that wimp" muttered Belloc

"Thank you, Mr. Rosenblatt" said Snape

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again. **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

**"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

They whistled innocently trying to avoid Molly's glare

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

"No one ever listens to that" Remus said

**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**

"Or catch a Rememberall in their first year"

"Or help to do it" (Foreshowing)

**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

**"He's not serious?" **

**he muttered to Percy. **

Snuffles barked

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Duncan noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

"Let's all sing" Fred and George said happily as Hogwarts students and the Muggles (Belloc decided determinately to not sing) bellowed

_**"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **_

_**Teach us something please, **_

_**Whether we be old and bald **_

_**Or young with scabby knees, **_

_**Our heads could do with filling **_

_**With some interesting stuff, **_

_**For now they're bare and full of air, **_

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **_

_**So teach us things worth knowing, **_

_**Bring back what we've forgot, **_

_**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **_

_**And learn until our brains all rot."**_

Jenna and Kenny clapped

"That's really good"

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**

As they did in the room

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries.**

"But he could notice Duncan leaning on him all the way to the dormitories" said Harry.

"Oops?" said Duncan innocently

**They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

**"Peeves,"**

"Who?" asked Isabel

**Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist."**

"A what?"

**He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

"Dear old Peeves" the twins sighed

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

"Low blow" muttered Lee

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

**"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armour as he passed. **

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." **

"Yes, because Prefects are really important" Fred muttered to George lowly but unfortunately for them, their mother heard them and glared at them.

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. **

**"Password?" she said. **

**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

**"I love the common room" Hermione sighed**

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: six four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

**"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once. **

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. **

"Ugh?" Charlie let out

**Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking. **

"That's what you get for eating too much before going to bed" Margaret said

"**You allright?" he heard Duncan's concerned voice.**

"**Yeah. Just a nightmare. Go back to sleep"**

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

"That's the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?

**Another over! Review!**

**Pop question: Would you like more people to join for the Reading? If so, who?**


	13. The Potions Master

**Allright, I will be like a zombi tomorrow in school but I finished it.**

**Comments: Rosezelene Ersa: If you want to read, I will give you a chance of créate your OOC and send you description to me, same with all you guys!**

**Moonlight: THANK YOU THANK YOU TANK YOU! To créate a story it's only needed an account and imagination. And don't worry about your English, I am Spanish too!**

**Poll: Maggie and Duncan: 6**

**Isabel and Harry: 6**

**Ron and Hermione: 5**

**Hermione and Duncan, Kenny and George/Fred, Jenna and Draco: 2**

**Harry and Daphne: 1**

**Isabel and Kenny, Ron and Jenna, Kenny and Hermione, Harry and Hermione: 0**

**I don't own this...sadly...enjoy**

* * *

**THE POTIONS MASTER" **read Snape.

"_Great, a whole chapter with the git_" thought Sirius.

**There, look."**

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair and the small kid with blonde hair."**

"Good descriptions" commented Duncan and Ron.

**"Wearing the glasses?"**

**"Did you see his face?"**

**"Did you see his scar?"**

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring.**

"That would be very annoying" said Kenny

"Indeed"

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

"And the people staring at you couldn't give you the directions?" asked Maggie. The people who did that looked down ashamed.

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"How do you know? You counted them?"asked Seamus

"No. We read it." Said Harry. Duncan noticed that Harry was not wearing his glasses. Harry noticed his stare and gave him a grey-eyed grin.

**wide,sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. **

Neville groaned, he always had problems with those.

**Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. **

"Ah, the confusion of the first days" sighed Bill

"Tell me about it" mumbled the first years.

**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**

"They can" said Flitwick

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"What an annoying creature" said Belloc

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. **

The students nodded in agreement.

**Harry, Duncan and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.**

"Very good" complimented the twins

"It was an accident" said the Evans

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

"Yeah, passing" the Trio and Duncan's expressions darkened.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's.**

"How in the WORLD that cat is still alive?" asked a shocked Remus.

**She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone **

"Excuse me?" said the twins

**(except perhaps the Weasley twins) **

"That's better"

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

Harry and Duncan grinned, an evil grin.

"How so?" asked Dean

"We convinced Peeves to distract Flich and, while the Twins pranked him, we gave that demon cat a good kick"

"No way…"

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as the Evans quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

"That's what most Muggleborns think as magic before they go there"

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets.**

Duncan groaned in annoyance. He hated that class

**Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. **

Neville grinned

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him.**

Margaret looked disturbed.

**Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

"Can't you just fire him? Most boring class ever!" yelled the twins and the Evans at once. Dumbledore shook his head

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

The Hall laughed as Flitwick blushed

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever,**

"Thank you Mr. Potter"

**she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."**

"I like that teacher" said Belloc at once. Duncan groaned

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger and Duncan had made any difference to their matches; Professor McGonagall showed the class how they had gone all silver and pointy and gave them a rare smile.**

"Rare being the key word" said Lee

"Congrats Duncan!" said Maggie

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. **

Belloc coughed something that sounded like "Told you so" and "wimp"

**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.**

**For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; **

Cue laugh

**for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

Duncan, Harry, Ron and Hermione looked sickened. So the smell was…

**The cousins were very relieved to find out that they weren't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like them, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

"Hey?!" said Ron, not sure if it was a compliment or an insult

**Friday was an important day for Harry, Duncan and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

"We managed in two weeks" growled George

"We beat you" sang Ron, Dunc and Har

**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherin," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them - we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"It's true" three Houses said in agreement. McGonagall glared slightly at Snape.

**"Wish McGonagall favored us, " said Duncan. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry and Duncan had gotten used to this by now, but it had given them a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

"I recall a certain Rosenblatt shouting "What in the bloody-?!" said Hermione.

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. The only thing they had received was a letter from Maggie which brought Finem. **

Maggie smiled at the Evans and they smiled back

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

_**Dear Harry and Duncan,**_

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.**_

_**Hagrid**_

"That was really sweet Hagrid" cooed Margaret. Hagrid blushed

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

Cue Margaret and Belloc glares to Snape. Seeing Belloc's glare, he almost winced.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong.**

"What?" asked Dean

**Snape didn't dislike Harry –**

"Again: what?"

**- he hated him.**

"Oh, that makes more sense"

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons.**

Belloc smirked for some reason

**It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

"They have another use, apart from frighten the first years?" asked Sprout. Snape stared at the table

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

**"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."**

"Severus…" started McGonnagall.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

"_True. But they are different in all the other ways. Hagrid is a great softie, Snape is a greasy git_." Said Duncan

"_You are right_" said Harry

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had y caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death **

"Great speech" commented Belloc impressed

**- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

"I talked too soon"

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry, Duncan and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

Cue Duncan's sniggers and Hermione's blows.

"Duncan-stop-being-so-damn-observant"

"It's a gift" laughed Duncan

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"That's a third year question!" said McGonnagall

**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

**"I don't know, sit," said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

**"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."**

"Severus…" said Margaret

**Harry could almost feel Duncan's anger rising.**

"EVERYBODY COVER!" yelled the Weasley twins. Duncan looked smug

**He ignored Hermione's hand.**

"She knows, Sev, why you don't ask her?" asked Margaret, while _Sev_ ignored her.

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

"End of second year" said Flitwick

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

**"I don't know, sir."**

**"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?**

"That's the Herbology book" Snape snapped. Duncan and Harry glared at him, and Snape could have swore that Potter's eyes were grey and Rosenblatt's green.

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"**That's enough. He had already shown that he doesn't know those facts, so why you don't leave him alone and pick on someone else?" Duncan's voice trembled with rage. The class looked at him in awe or in outrage.**

"DUNCAN!" yelled surprisingly Belloc. One thing he couldn't stand was talk back. He glared at Duncan and Duncan glared back. After a few minutes Belloc gave up, realizing this was basically glaring at himself.

"**Listen, Mr…" Snape started with a frown**

"**Rosenblatt"**

"**Mr. Rosenblatt, I will not accept insolences from anyone. Ten points from Gryffindor." Duncan just continued staring into those eyes.**

**"For the other question, I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked.**

**Snape, however, was not pleased.**

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach nof a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

"You didn't told them to" said Maggie

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." Duncan looked outraged**

"While I agree that Duncan did something wrong, that is just unfair" said Belloc.

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs**

"If Malfoy's work is perfect how would you describe Hermione's?" said Ron.

"And Duncan's?"

The two bookworms blushed.

**when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

"Poor boy" said Margaret

**"Idiot boy!" **

"SON OF A…" this was surprisingly cut of by Duncan clapping a hand over Maggie's mouth.

**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

**"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you?**

Margaret and Belloc (now yes) were positively fuming

"**Maybe because he was busy with his own potion?!" snapped Duncan. Snape looked at him.**

**That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"Duncan…" pronounced his father

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty, and with Duncan he had had enough."**

"**I can turn VERY nasty too" grumbled Duncan under his breath.**

"Indeed" shuddered those who had been in the reach of his temper

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week - why did Snape hate him so much? Duncan was feeling just a bit guilty, those lost points worth it.**

"Still think so"

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang - back."**

"Who?" said Margaret

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

"Nice house" smiled Kenny

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

"Sometimes pets are like their owners."

**"This is Ron," Duncan told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.**

"Why the freckles? Why not the red hair?" asked Charlie.

"Dunno"

**I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, **

"Sorry" they said at once to Hagrid, who looked a bit hurt

**but Harry, Duncan and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first -lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

"Eeewww" said Jenna

**Harry, Duncan and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Fitch "that old git."**

Cue all the students' ovation to Hagrid

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime.**

Duncan grinned evilly.

"_Absolutely not…yet_" smirked Harry

**D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her - Fitch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. And also advised Duncan to not talk back to the teachers. **

"Listen to him, or you will be in more trouble." Said Belloc

"With the teachers or with you?" asked Duncan with a raised eyebrow.

"With both"

"You wouldn't have done it?" asked Duncan. Belloc opened his mouth to retort, but he closed it. He had to grudgingly admit that his son was right.

**Duncan pretended not to hear him, he still thought that was worth it.**

"You are as stubborn as a mule" said Belloc

"Get that from you" Duncan retorted right back

**"But he seemed to really hate me."**

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"**

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

"Hagrid, you are a really, really bad liar" said Duncan (A cookie to who find out which book's reference is!)

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot - great with animals."**

"Great changing subject" grinned Arthur

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy, and Duncan read over his shoulder. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:**

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST**

_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.**_

_**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.**_

**Duncan remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.**

**"Hagrid!" said Duncan, "that Gringotts break-in happened on Harry's birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

The students' eyes widened

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet his eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

"They figured out quickly" whispered McGonagall

"Too quickly" Belloc added

**As Harry, Duncan and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell the cousins?**

"That's the end of the chapter"

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	14. The midnight duel

**I am getting you used to the fast updates...maybe I should change that...**

**I don't own HP or FB.**

**Thanks for the reviews!**

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**"The Midnight Duel," **Fred read.

There were a few raised eyebrows at the title.

**Harry had never believed he would a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.**

Draco tried hiding looking sheepish before he became mad. He was nothing like that fat Muggle! Right?

**Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lesson would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

**"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

The people that witnessed Harry's first lesson (besides Draco) smirked.

**He and Duncan had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

Belloc smirked

**"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

"Not really," muttered Harry. Draco glanced at Harry shocked. Was Potter giving him a compliment?

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

Everyone turned to look at the young Slytherin who promptly blushed.

"Do you know what an helicopter is?" asked Duncan. Silence. The Prince smirked satisfied.

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. **

"Well, it's true" Seamus said

**Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

"WHAT?!" shouted Mrs. Weasley outraged.

Charlie tried not to glower at Ron for using his broom .

Ron's ears were turning rather red.

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**

"It's a little boring to watch, but fun to play," said Hermione reasonably.

"True" said Duncan. "But in school, I prefer playing dogdeball"

Harry started laughing so hard that he was running out of breath. The entire Hall looked at him strangely.

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

Harry and Duncan started to laugh.

"Dean explained me after that. And you, stop snickering!"

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Duncan felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

Duncan immediately started apologizing.

"Stop it, Dun, I know I am a bit clumsy"

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried.**

Cue disbelieving looks

**At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages.**

"HEY!"

"Sorry?"

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. Neither Harry nor Duncan hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course.**

"Sorry guys"

"Never mind, Mags"

**Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

Isabel coughed something that sounded like "arrogant git"

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. **

"A remembreall!" cried Astoria Greengrass

**"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "…you've forgotten something…"**

"It really is pointless since you obviously won't remember what you've forgotten," said Tonks.

A few people nodded.

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten **

"The irony" chuckled Margaret.

**when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

**Harry, Duncan and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"I've had a lot of practice," said Minerva shooting a glance at Remus who grinned sheepishly.

**"What's going on?" **

**"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." **

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "Just looking,"**

"Yeah right" grumbled Dean

**he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. **

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Duncan, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet**

"Perfect day for flying," said Sirius, Charlie, and Tonks who all sighed dreamily.

Duncan suddenly grinned as he imagined Harry's face when he tell him that he could fly without a broom.

**as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Duncan had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

"They do," muttered all Quidditch enthusiasts.

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk. **

**"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

The Quidditch fanatics shuddered.

**Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'" **

**"UP" everyone shouted. Harry and Duncan's broom jumped into their hand at once, **

"A natural" said Angelina

**but they were one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. **

**Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; **

"Interesting theory Harry" said Dumbledore looking at his hands

**there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. **

"**Up" Ron said, and the broom rose a bit but fell again. "Up!" a bit higher.**

"_**UP!**_**" he yelled, and the broom leapt so fast that hit him in the nose.**

Duncan and Harry laughed at a scowling Ron

"**Duncan, stop laughing"**

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry, Duncan and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"I guess it does depend on the person," said Harry hesitantly.

Draco was gaping at Potter, knowing that it was almost a compliment.

**"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —" **

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips. **

There were a few chuckles. Leave it to Neville to get in trouble.

**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and — WHAM —**

Many gasps were repeated around the room.

**a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**

Almost everyone winced in sympathy for the poor boy.

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

**"Broken wrist," Duncan heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."**

"Were you all right?" asked Margaret.

"Indeed, Mrs. Rosenblatt"

**She turned to the rest of the class. **

**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear." **

There were a few eye rolls at that.

"Leaving a bunch of eleven year olds with broomsticks without supervision, what a great idea!" said Tonks sarcastically.

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

Isabel wanted to smack the Slytherin boy for his arrogance but a look from Harry said not to.

**"Did you see his face, the great lump?" **

**The other Slytherins joined in. "Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil. **

**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."**

"That's mature," said Bill, rolling his eyes.

Neville was about to lunge at one of them.

**"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up. **

**"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch. Malfoy smiled nastily. **

**"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?" **

Cue growls and glares towards the Prince of Ferrets.

**"Give it here!" Duncan yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Evans!"**

"Evans" muttered Belloc quietly. "They wouldn't dare…"

**Duncan and Harry grabbed their brooms.**

Duncan and Harry turned to look at Belloc.

"I won't bother anymore. You two seem to attract trouble"

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me" they said in synchrony

"You flew after him, didn't you?" said Margaret.

**"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble." Harry ignored her and Duncan just looked at her with an expression that said do-not-speak.**

"You wouldn't stop both of us, anyway" said Duncan

**Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught …Duncan and Harry looked at each other and grinned— this was easy, this was wonderful. **

"It is" sighed the Evans

**They pulled their broomsticks up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron. Harry turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair, Duncan right behind him. Malfoy looked stunned. "Give it here," Duncan called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!" **

"You wouldn't" said Jenna wide-eyed

"Oh, believe me" smirked Duncan, a very Slytherin smirk. "I would"

**"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried. **

**The cousins knew, somehow, what to do. Duncan leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Duncan made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping. **

As they were doing in the Hall

**"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called. The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy. **

"Body guards, that's what they are," muttered Hermione annoyed.

**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground. Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall.**

**He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

Cue Ravenclaws', Hufflepuffs' and Gryffindors' cheers.

**Duncan, meanwhile, had started chasing Malfoy, blocking his way, anticipating his ever movement. It wasn't much different to hunt.**

"Yeah, only people, not animals." Smirked Duncan darkly

**Harry watched Duncan and, in an impulse, he threw the Rememberall at him.**

"WHY?!"

"Dunno, just an impulse"

**Duncan plummeted and caught the Rememberall just a second before he hit the ground. He managed to top onto the grass with a huge grin on his face.**

"Nothing can beat the Evans cousins!" yelled Duncan

"You could have broke your neck" said a very pale Margaret.

"I didn't"

**"HARRY POTTER! DUNCAN ROSENBLATT" **

**Harry heart sank faster than he'd just dived, and Duncan's grin dropped. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling. **

"Oh, God, no" muttered Kenny

**"Never — in all my time at Hogwarts —" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how dare you — might have broken your neck "**

**"It wasn't his fault, Professor —" **

**"Be quiet, Miss Patil —" **

**"But Malfoy —" **

**"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now." **

"It was worth it in the end," said the twins before winking at Harry.

Harry couldn't hide an impish smile and Duncan's eyes sparkled.

**Duncan caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as they left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"Really, Duncan?" asked Hermione. "You either see the best in everything or the absolute worst."

Everyone who really knew Duncan silently agreed.

**He wanted to say something to defend himself and Harry, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up.**

The same thought was in the other professors' heads: "_Quidditch fanatic_"

**Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

"Probably lock us in our room and throw away the key," muttered Harry bitterly not realizing that everyone heard and were looking at Harry bewildered.

The twins and Ron grunted remembering his second year and what the Dursley's did to his window and door.

"Why are you talking in plural?" asked Ron. Harry shrugged, he hadn't realize it until Ron pointed out.

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry and Duncan trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him and Duncan to Dumbledore. Harry thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

"Harry" chuckled some students at Harry's imagination.

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. **

**"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?" Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? **

Everyone turned to look at Harry for automatically think that.

"Mr. Potter, I would never punish my students like that" said an astounded McGonagall.

Isabel was ashen-faced.

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused. "Follow me, you three," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry and Duncan. **

**"In here." Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. **

**"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing.**

"He didn't argue with you, Professor?" asked Tonks amazed.

Everyone was giving Minerva impressed looks.

**Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the three boys. **

**"Potter, Rosenblatt, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker and a Chaser."**

"You have GOT to be joking" said an impressed Margaret.

"No, miss. Your son and nephew are really good Quidditch players"

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. **

The twins groaned.

**"Are you serious, Professor?" **

Snuffles barked

**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boys' are naturals. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, kids?" **

**Harry nodded silently , Duncan was completely mute. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs. **

"You were in a bit of a shock, weren't you?" asked Seamus

Harry said "yes" at the same time Duncan said "no"

**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it.**

"OI!" said Charlie loudly with a peeved expression. Minerva gave him an apologetic look while Duncan laughed.

**And Rosenblatt had started blocking Mr. Malfoy's ways to escape, and then he catched the thing that Potter threw to him while he was plummeting"**

"That was stupid" commented Remus

"Stupid, but look at the reward" said George

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

"**That means that you will give Malfoy detention?" Duncan asked shyly**

"**There will be an investigation about it" said McGonagall**

"Oh, come on!" growled Belloc.

"We did gave Mr. Malfoy a detention" said McGonagall

**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter, Rosenblatt?" he asked excitedly. **

**"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained. **

**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light —speedy — the same with Rosenblatt. We'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say." **

**"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…"**

"Not that you would want to," said the twins snickering.

Everyone snorted except for said person who gave them a scathing look.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry and Duncan. **

**"I want to hear you're training hard, Evans, or I may change my mind about punishing you." **

**Then she suddenly smiled. **

**"Potter, your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself." **

There were many nods in agreement.

**"You're joking." **

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it. **

"You made Ron forget about food, Harry?" asked Fred bewildered.

"That's an amazing achievement!" exclaimed George in awe.

The Weasley's, Harry, Duncan and Hermione laughed as Ron's ears started turning scarlet.

**"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never — you must be the youngest house player in about" **

**" — a century," said Duncan, shovelling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me." **

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at the cousins.**

"**Duncan, can you be in a state of shock?" whispered Harry. "You seemed like you would faint at any moment"**

"**I was expecting to be expelled!" **

**"We start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret." **

Almost everyone snorted. "Gossip at Hogwarts travels fast," said Tonks.

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry and Duncan, and hurried over. **

**"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters." **

**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, guys, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

**"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." **

**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of - - - that we found in our first week. See you."**

"Wait, you skipped it!" accused Ron.

"Ah, little bro, some things should remain secret," said Fred before winking at Ron.

Everyone laughed and Ron glowered at his brother.

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. **

**"Having a last meal, Evans? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" **

**"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Duncan coolly. **

**There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

**"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?" **

**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?" **

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

Ron looked down away from his mother's piercing glare.

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. **

**"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." **

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

**"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?" **

**"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. **

"You said it casually, Ronald?" asked Hermione while she rolled her eyes.

**Catching the look on Harry and Duncan's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" **

**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Duncan suggested, and then started practicing a spell. **

Mad-Eye nodded approvingly.

_**Eye of a rabbit, harp and trombone, I don't want water, I want rum! "**_

"What kind of spell is that?" Asked a bemused Belloc

"A fake one" Duncan groaned

**"Excuse me." **

**Harry and Ron both looked up, Duncan was still trying to turn his water into rum, and he waved at the person. It was Hermione Granger. **

**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. **

"_**Eye of a rabbit…"**_

"Duncan, you should listen to her!" yelled Mrs. Weasley.

"Hey you" started Margaret rising to her feet. "I am his mother and I will decide when yell at him or scold him, so shut up!" many were looking at Margaret in amazement, but Ducnan smiled, his Mom was in Mother Hen mode…

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. **

**"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —" **

**"Bet you could," Ron muttered. **

**"— and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you." **

"Low blow" muttered Duncan

**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry. **

"…_**I want**_**-" BOOM.**

Everyone jumped at the unexpected shout.

**Duncan was covered in ashes and his hair was a bit burned. Hermione stood wide-eyed.**

Cue laugh and Duncan's blush

"And here I thought Seamus was the arsonist" laughed Dean. Seamus and Duncan shot him poisonous looks

"**I think I need more practice" he coughed. "What a spell, surely is not real" said Ron**

"You all right Duncan?" asked Fred

"Yeah. And you, goddamned traitors, how are you feeling?"

"Impressed that you fell for it" he laughed causing the Hall to start laughing again

"**You all right?" asked a panicky Hermione.**

"**Yeah, I am fine"**

"That can be your phrase" sighed Hermione. Harry and Duncan were always "fine"

**"Good-bye," said Ron.**

"Sorry, Hermione," said both Harry and Ron.

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing).**

"Why?" asked Margaret

"You will see"

**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as possible.**

**"If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

Snorts were heard.

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

"One half is Lily talking, the other is James" said Remus

**"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go." **

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry." **

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown, and Duncan, wearing his pajama and a determined expression. **

"Since when…?" started Harry

"Since eleven" Hermione responded

**"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!" **

**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this." **

A few people looked at Hermione in horror. Percy who was rather quiet during readings was looking rather bitter that everyone thought coming to him was a bad thing when he was prefect.

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering. **

"**I will go with you. If Harry goes, I go." Said Duncan**

"DUNCAN BELLOC ROSENBLATT!" yelled Margaret

"It already happened, Mom" said Duncan a bit panicked

**"Come on," Harry said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole. **

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose. **

Hermione looked indignant that she was being compared to a goose.

**"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**

"They won't listen" sighed Maggie

**"Go away. You too, Duncan" **

**"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —" **

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower. **

"I hate it when that happens," muttered the teens, Sirius, and Tonks.

**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly. **

**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late." Said Duncan**

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them. **

**"I'm coming with you," she said. **

**"You are not." **

"Yes I am" retorted her.

**"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up." **

**"You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly. **

**"Shut up, both of you!" said Duncan sharply. "I heard something." **

"Only you can get them to stop bickering," muttered McGonagall.

**It was a sort of snuffling. **

**"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark. **

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer. **

"What were you doing there?"

**"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed." **

"Maybe that's why the Rememberall turned red," said Luna absentmindedly.

Almost everyone looked at the young Ravenclaw bewildered.

**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere." **

**"How's your arm?" said Harry. **

**Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute." **

**"Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —" **

**"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already." **

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione, Duncan and Neville. **

**"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you." **

"That's my mark spell, find yours!" said Ginny

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

Hermione blushed.

**but Duncan growled at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward. **

Hermione didn't know that. She thought that he had literally growled… what does that mean? She didn't say her suspicions aloud for Duncan's sake.

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky.**

"I don't know how you survived two years without the Marauders Map," said Remus wistfully. "It would have made things so much easier."

The twins looked at Remus curiously. How did he know about the map?

**They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. **

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. **

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. **

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" boomed Mad-Eye, making everyone jump and Tonks' hair to turn red.

**They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.**

**The minutes crept by. **

**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. **

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy. **

**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." **

A few people gasped.

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. **

**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding." **

**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified; they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

Almost everyone winced, positive that the trio and Duncan and Neville would be caught.

**"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead,**

"Of course," many muttered amused.

**without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

**"I —told — you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"Not exactly the time for "I told you so," Hermione" said Bill.

**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible." **

**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off." **

"That smug, wimp, brainless coward" muttered Belloc angrily

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that. **

A few people snorted.

**"Let's go." **

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. **

**It was Peeves.**

Almost everyone that was familiar with the interfering Poltergeist groaned loudly.

**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight. **

**"Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out." **

**Peeves cackled. **

**"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." **

**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." **

**"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know." **

**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. this was a big mistake. **

There were many eye rolls and groans. Ron blushed.

**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" **

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked. **

**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

"And you call ME dramatic" snorted Harry

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves' shouts. **

**"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "Alohomora!" The lock clicked and the door swung open**

"That's impressive a first year could do the unlocking charm and with another wizard's wand," said Dumbledore, winking at Hermione with his twinkling blue eyes. Many nodded in bewildered agreement as Hermione blushed at the compliment.

— **they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening. **

**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." **

**"Say 'please.'" **

**"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" **

**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice. **

"He's not going to say anything," said Charlie relieved and amused.

**"All right —please." **

**"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. **

**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. Ron nodded.**

"**It WAS locked!" said Hermione**

"**And look at the reason…" came Duncan's shaky voice. **

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, why. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

Many eyes widened and people leaned forward or straightened up in their chairs in anticipation.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"WHAT IN MERLIN'S BEARD IS THAT THING DOING IN A SCHOOL?!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley making many rub their ears.

"Wicked!" yelled the twins in awe that their brother and friends got to see something so brilliant.

Margaret and Belloc were frozen.

The rest of the Weasley's were looking rather shocked that Molly had sworn.

Dumbledore didn't comment. Fred decided to keep reading.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant. **

"Stop being so descriptive" shuddered Colin Creevey

**They all screamed at unison.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. **

"Good choice" said Parvati

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster.**

The younger years nodded, impressed

**They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor."Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces. **

"Why she keeps asking? Nobody answers her" said Neville

**"Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs. **

"**Shock of your lives" grinned Angelina**

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

**"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

A few people chuckled.

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**

"The floor?" Isabel suggested. Duncan chuckled

**"The floor?" Harry suggested. **

Isabel blushed

**I wasn't looking at its feet; I was too busy with its heads." **

**"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." **

**She stood up, glaring at them. **

**"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." **

"Are you Sirius?" asked Ron. Hermione chuckled and Snuffles barked.

"**She needs to reorder her priorities" muttered Duncan**

"Too true" was heard among the Hall. Hermione groaned. What a goody-two-shoes she had been!

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open. "No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you." **

"Technically…" started Kenny

"…Yes" finished the twins

**But Hermione had given the cousins something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. **

**The dog was guarding something…What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts. **

**It looked as though Harry and Duncan had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

The students started to mutter, excited.

"That's the end of the chapter," said Fred.

* * *

**Another one over! If you got any ideas review! If don't, still review!**

**Pop question: Should Duncan be with Harry when he faces Voldy or not?**


	15. NOT A CHAPTER, A WARNING

**I found this out from a fellow FFnet author!  
In this is an important notice that will affect everyone on this site and many others.**

AJTREY got a message from a fellow writer, GameLover41592, and saw more notes and messages from even more, that SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) is back.  
The bill that is threatening to take away our freedoms on the Internet is back.  
Not only back, but it is trying to be passed quietly so nobody notices.

SOPA will guarantee that anybody who streams a video, whether it is on YouTube, a walkthrough for a video game, or a kid singing a song that is 'copyrighted', they will be treated as a felon.  
That is one of the highest forms of criminal offenses for something as simple as uploading a video game walkthrough on youtube, playing a song with lyrics of your favorite artist and even visiting the website we all love, this one right here.

I am telling everyone this because it affects us all as Fanfiction will be attacked as well.  
A FanFiction writer can be carted off to a maximum state prison for writing a character from Naruto into their fanfic, or a character from Bleach, or a character from One Piece, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Charmed, the list is endless.

You think I'm exaggerating?  
I promise you that if this bill passes, it will not be long, not long at all!  
Because once this passes, then anything goes.  
Fanfiction will be attacked for using canon characters in a fanfiction manner, authors will be arrested for writing a book whose main character has glasses just like in another series, artists will be arrested for using sapphire blue or emerald green in the iris of one of their characters, like another author.  
This affects us all, and we cannot allow it to happen.

I know that some of you may not believe me and I completely understand.  
I could be making this up for all you know.  
But I'm not, and I've provided links below to prove to you I am telling the truth.  
Simply remove the spaces below, and see for yourself!

www . huffingtonpost 2013/08/07/unauthorized-streaming-felony_n_3720479 . html  
www . washingtonpost blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/05/sopa-died-in-2012-b ut-obama-administration-wants-to-revive-part-of-it /  
www . techdirt articles/20130805/12472124074/administration-cant- let-go-wants-to-bring-back-felony-streaming-provis ions-sopa . shtml: / www . youtube watch?v=1fTt4K4Cae4

Or just type 'SOPA' into the search bar on your homepage!

We are not as powerless as some might think.  
We've stopped SOPA before and we WILL do it again.  
Our stories, our ideas, our dreams, our passions are being threatened.  
Everything, from FanFiction to Fan Art to YouTube, is in danger of being gone forever.

We need spread the word to stop this. So make sure your friends who do this things are told and no one is left in the dark about this


	16. Halloween

**Allright, another is here guys! I am expecting MINIMUM 6 REVIEWS of this chapter or I won't update another, you Heard me?!**

**I don't own this...enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN: HALLOWEEN**" Tonks started, wondering what this chapter entailed.

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. **

"Ha ha ha-ha ha" chanted the three friends

"Real mature, Potter, Weasley, Rosenblatt"

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry, Duncan and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.**

"The twins" muttered Molly

"James" mumbled Remus

"Margaret" whispered Belloc at the same time she mused "Belloc"

Ron, Duncan and Harry looked quite annoyed

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

**"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or both" said Maggie

**"Or both," said Duncan.**

People chuckled.

"_Two Galleons, here I come_" thought Belloc

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor.**

"Come on, Hermione, where is your sense of adventure?" asked Kenny

"Hidden very deep that year, Ken" she answered

**All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. **

"Someone who speaks sense" said Margaret.

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. **

"And here I thought they were best friends the whole time," Molly grumbled, wondering what changed.

"She spoke to me, but since I was most of the time with you…" trailed off Duncan, watching Harry and Ron's fruitless attempts to apologize to Hermione

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.**

"Good" said Belloc, causing the staff to look at him. "What?"

"Well, Belloc" started Arthur. "Looking on how you scolded Duncan during the previous chapters, we thought that you were the responsible parent"

Duncan's laughs echoed thought the Hall.

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a two longs, thin packages carried by twelve large screech owls. **

"What's that?" asked Jenna

**The cousins were just as interested as everyone else to see what was in those large parcels, and were amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of them, knocking Harry's bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

**Duncan made a grab for one parcel and Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:**

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCELS AT THE TABLE. **_

_**It contains your news Nimbus Two Thousands, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got broomsticks or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**_

_**Professor McGonagall**_

Margaret cheered at this while Minerva smiled and reddened.

**Harry and Duncan had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one." They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomsticks in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

"Can't you just leave them alone?" growled Belloc

**"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Evans, first years aren't allowed them." Ron couldn't resist it.**

"Of course you couldn't" said Arthur

**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at the cousins. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**

"Five points from Gryffindor." Said Snape. The friends facepalmed. They were going to get detentions and lose points for past offences?

**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," - Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." **

"Ten points from Slytherin" said McGonagall. The Trio and Duncan grinned

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

**"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.**

"No, everybody knows about Malfoy, Potter and Rosenblatt's 'relationship'" snickered Dean

**"Potter and Rosenblatt had been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

"Tattle-tale" said Isabel

**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry and Duncan. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sit," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that we've got it," Duncan added. **

"Very Slytherin of you, Evans" said Daphne Greengrass

"Was that an insult or a compliment?"

"A compliment"

**Harry, Duncan and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouln't be on the team..."**

**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Duncan's hand.**

Hermione groaned

**"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.**

**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good." **

"RON!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

The students snickered

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. Judging from Duncan's dreamy look, he was the same.**

"Understable**" **

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron and Duncan to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.**

He smiled lightly, remembering his old broom.

**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread. Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. **

The quidditch fans sighed.

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. They had never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.**

"What?" asked the Purebloods

"Never mind" said Duncan quickly

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Duncan mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling - he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. **

**"Hey, Rosenblatt, come down!' Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Duncan landed next to him.**

**"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting.**

The ones who had seen that glint groaned

**"I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." **

"Ah—"

"Practice—"

"Three times a week!" The twins sighed, while everyone looked on in confusion.

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**

**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**

The Muggles and the Kaiju were listening with rapt attention.

**"Three Chasers," Duncan repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. "This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**

**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Duncan and Harry recited. "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"Muggle sport" said Isabel quickly

**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

**"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper -I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. **

**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. "I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." He showed the cousins two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Duncan noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

**"Stand back," Wood warned the Evans. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

"HE REALLY DID THAT?!" screeched Margaret, deafening Belloc and Jenna, who were sitting next to her.

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air - it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground. Duncan grimaced**

**"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team - the Weasley twins are ours - it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So- think you've got all that?"**

**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off. Duncan simply nodded**

**"Very good," said Wood.**

**"Er - have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Duncan asked, hoping he sounded offhand.**

**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that.**

"Ugh" shuddered Kenny

**Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers **

**Unless they crack my head open."**

**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

"That's the highest compliment Oliver had said to us." The twins mock-sobbed

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

**"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**

"So, no pressure, Harry" smirked Ron

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.**

"Whoa" said Belloc

**"Well, that's it – any questions?" Harry and Duncan shook their understood what they had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. But we will practice with the Quaffle. Let's try you out with a few of these." He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he, Duncan and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch, and throwing the Quaffle as far as he could for Duncan to catch. They didn't miss a single one, **

Cue cheers

**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

**"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, Harry, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

Charlie huffed, he really liked "chasing dragons" as Wood had put it

**Perhaps it was because they was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all their homework, but neither Harry nor Duncan could hardly believe it when he realized that they'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. **

Margaret and Belloc looked sad at that.

**Their lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics. On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). **

"Sorry, Nev," Harry stated, feeling bad.

"It's alright, mate."

**Duncan was working with Dean Thomas.**

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

"I was" they said at unison.

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day the Evans' broomstick had arrived.**

**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' an found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

"Lie" said Remus and the twins. "Nothing happened"

**It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it - Harry had to put it out with his hat. **

"So that's what are the hats for!" said Ron

"Like I said: arsonist" said Dean looking at Seamus.

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

**"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

The Hall snorted.

**Duncan, who was sitting near him, snorted.**

"**Wait, wait, wait. You are going to poke someone's eye." He chuckled**

**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

**"You do it, then, if you're so clever,"**

"Bad move" said Belloc

**Ron snarled. Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

**"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!" **

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

"RON!" came the shout from every female in the room.

**Duncan glared a death glare at him.**

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face - and was startled to see that she was in tears. I think she heard you."**

**"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable.**

"Good!" Many of the females in the room shouted while glaring at Ron for his insensitivity.

**"She must've noticed she's got no friends." **

"**Stop being so heartless you little fucking son of a witch!" Duncan snapped and ran after Hermione, but he couldn't reach her.**

"DUNCAN!" Margaret shouted, the others were too impressed of Duncan's outburst.

"Where did you learn those words?" Belloc asked.

Duncan pointed at Harry, who pointed at Ron, who pointed at Bill, who pointed at Charlie, who pointed at Percy, who pointed at the twins, who pointed at Arthur, who pointed at Remus, who raised his hands in defense.

"James" McGonagall muttered.

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry, Duncan and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. **

Cue glares

**Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds. **

"I feel loved" said Hermione

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.**

"What happened?" asked those who weren't there.

**Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. **

"A TROLL?" shrieked Molly and Margaret. "HOW COME I WASN'T INFORMED?" said Molly. Dumbledore didn't responded

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" Percy was in his element.**

At this, the actual Percy puffed out his chest in pride, but not without everyone in his family frowning.

**"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

"Like that matters in the grand scheme of things," Ginny mumbled, crossing her arms angrily across her chest.

**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

"Peeves is not that cruel," Remus interrupted, shaking his head.

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Duncan suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

"Finally!" Hermione breathed, grabbing a hold of Harry's arm while she did so.

**"I've just thought - Hermione."**

**"What about her?"**

"Jesus, Ron, what about her." George interrupted, shaking his head as Charlie and Bill laughed lightly.

**"She doesn't know about the troll." Ron bit his lip.**

**"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us." Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry and Duncan behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

Snape tried not to glower or groan. That bloody boy saw everything.

**"What's he doing?" Duncan whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

**"Search me." Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

**"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

**"Can you smell something?" Duncan sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. And then they heard it - a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed - at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long. The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

"Jesus, Potter, do you have to be so bloody descriptive?" Pansy Parkinson mumbled, while many others nodded their heads in agreement.

**"The keys in the lock," Duncan muttered. "We could lock it in."**

**"Good idea," said Ron nervously. **

"So it was your idea, Duncan?" asked Hermione as she mockingly glared at him.

Duncan could only smile sheepishly as he put a hand through his hair.

"Sorry."

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

**'Yes!" Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop - a high, petrified scream - and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

**"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

**"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

"**Oh, God, no." said Duncan**

"HERMIONE!" bellowed the Hall, while Hermione blushed

**"Hermione!" they said together. **

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside. Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. "Confuse it!" Duncan said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall. **

"A good idea, Rosenblatt." Mad-Eye stated, pacing by the doors.

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry and Duncan.**

Belloc was paling and looking at Duncan in alarm.

**It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went. "Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, **

Mrs. Weasley moaned in her husband's chest as dread filled her. Mr. Weasley soothed his wife as best as he could. He wasn't worried too much knowing his son was fine and in front of them.

**giving Harry time to run around it. **

**"Come on, run, run!" Duncan yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror. **

"Hermione!" Many people groaned, while the person in question just put her head down, blushing.

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape. Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: **

**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.**

"Hey! Looks like your practice with your uncle ended up working!" Seamus shouted, with many people laughing at the reminder of the time Harry jumped on Dursley's back.

**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils. **

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club. Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright, Duncan still trying to make her move; Ron pulled out his own wand - not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"Jesus Christ, Weasley," Snape snapped, shaking his head in annoyance, "Maybe you should've done a spell you knew you could do properly."

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over - and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. **

Snape snapped his mouth shut, having opened it in shock, while Ron just smirked at the professor, extremely annoyed at him.

**The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble. Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done. Duncan rushed towards his cousin. It was Hermione who spoke first.**

**"Is it - dead?" **

**"I don't think so," said Duncan, "I think it's just been knocked out." Harry bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

**"Urgh - troll boogers." He wiped it on the troll's trousers. A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. **

"Try the whole school, Harry," Hagrid stated, laughing slightly.

**A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. **

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white.**

"Of course, Potter. I was worried something terrible must have happened for the troll to be making those kind of noises!"

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

**"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. **

**Harry and Duncan looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?" Snape gave Harry and Duncan a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down. Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

**"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me."**

**"Miss Granger!" Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last. "I went looking for the troll because I - I thought I could deal with it on my own - you know, because I've read all about them." Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher? **

At this, many people dropped their mouths in shock, and Minerva herself was shocked at that, remembering the incident very clearly.

**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club, Duncan was trying to get me out of here. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." Harry, Duncan and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them. **

**"Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

Remus was gaping and his eyes flicked back and forth between Hermione and Minnie.

"You actually believed her?" asked Remus shocked.

"She was certainly believable," muttered Minerva.

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

Laughter rung out in the room, and Snape turned red at it.

**"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione left. **

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry, Duncan and Ron. "Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go." They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

**"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

**"We got ten, once she's taken off Hermione's." Duncan pointed out**

**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**

"Hey!" Hermione interrupted, "I might not have needed saving if you hadn't locked the thing in there with me!"

Tonks chuckled once more.

**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him. They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

Hermione blushed, looking at Harry with a small smile.

**"Pig snout," they said and entered. The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates. But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

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	17. Quidditch

**Allright...I promised that I wouldn't post anything unless I have six reviews. I'll low it to four, let's see if you can do it...**

**I don't enjoy Firebreather or Harry Potter.**

**Do you like my new penname?**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

"**CHAPTER ELEVEN, QUIDDITCH**" Lee started, grinning when he realizes that it's a good thing he's reading this chapter.

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots. The Quidditch season had begun.**

"Yes!" Angelina and Maggie cheered.

**On Saturday, Harry and Duncan would be playing in their first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship. Hardly anyone had seen Harry or Duncan play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry and Duncan should be kept, well, secret.**

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend.**

Hermione blushed.

**He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her (Duncan refused to help since he had copied all his homework once),**

"Snape noticed, and ended with detention. For both" growled Duncan.

"I already said sorry!"

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do.**

**She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

"Only book that is worth reading" said Lee.

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473;**

"It would have been an interesting game" said Duncan

**that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players,**

"So that's why you are the reserve seeker" said Dean

"Is not!" said Duncan, completely fed up with all the jokes about his size.

**and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch,**

"Rarely, being the key word" said Snape. Some of the students shivered.

**referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

"Why the Sahara desert?" asked someone

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry, Duncan and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

All of the teachers snapped their gaze to the female, who blushed and bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"I was nice before," Hermione huffed.

"Yeah, but you were a little over enthusiastic," Harry said teasing her.

"I just wasn't good at talking to people," Hermione said blushing.

"I know, and you've gotten a lot better since you became our friend," Duncan said smiling.

**The day before the Evans's first Quidditch match, the four of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and Duncan had conjured them up a bright blue fire that, with a spell of Hermione, could be carried around in a jam jar.**

"That's impressive magic" said Flitwick. Hermione blushed proudly

"It's nothing" Duncan said, wondering the reactions to his "scaly little problem"

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Duncan noticed at once that Snape was limping.**

"Observant too much, Rosenblatt." Snape grumbled.

**Harry, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"It actually is," Albus stated, his eyes twinkling.

"It's just really advanced magic for a first year," Flitwick replied, clearly impressed with Hermione and Duncan

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye.**

"We have improved since then" Ron said

**He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

"Why it doesn't surprise me?" wondered aloud Jenna

"**What's that you've got there, Potter?"**

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**

**"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape.**

**"Severus Snape, that's not a rule" said Professor Sinistra fuming**

**"Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

**"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?" said Duncan**

**"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Ronald Weasley!" Molly snapped, unimpressed.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry, Duncan and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**

Well, at least they had to work for their answers," Margaret said in a resigned tone.

"I try my best," Hermione said sighing.

**Harry and Duncan felt restless. They wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off their nerves about tomorrow. Why should they be afraid of Snape? Getting up, Harry told Ron, Duncan and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

"That's brave, Potter." Someone snorted.

**"Better you than me," Ron and Hermione said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

"He's probably right," Snape mumbled.

"**Want me to join you?" asked Duncan.**

**"No, thank…you will come anyways, won't you?"**

**"You really know me well" smiled Duncan, way too anxious and nervous to just sat there.**

Maggie smacked Duncan. Hard.

"Stupid, loyal git" she said, having grown a distrust for said professor.

**They made their way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. Harry knocked again. Nothing. Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try.**

"Maybe" mumbled Belloc

**He pushed the door ajar and peered inside - and a horrible scene met their eyes. Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**

"ARGHHHHHH" The Weasley's shouted and the teachers looked at them in amusement, minus Snape

"My mind needs to be washed out Lee. Would you mind?"

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**

"ARGHHHHHH!" More shouting was heard.

The teachers stared at Snape. Surely he wasn't…

Margaret and Belloc laughed and Snape growled out that they weren't doing anything like that.

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled.**

"Oh" many students mumbled in embarrassment, Minerva and Margaret too. They had been quite scared of what Duncan and Harry had seen.

**Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

**"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

Cue gasps and glares at Snape, who glared back.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but –**

**"EVANS!" Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry and Duncan gulped.**

**"I just wondered if I could have my book back." Said Harry**

"That is brave, Harry." Ginny said confidently twirling her hair around her finger.

**"GET OUT! OUT!" Harry and Duncan left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor.**

"Smart idea" said Belloc approvingly

**They sprinted back upstairs.**

**"Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry and Duncan joined them.**

**"What's the matter?" In a low whisper, the cousins told them what they'd seen.**

**"You know what this means?" Duncan finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him - he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"I'm thankful I didn't take that bet," Duncan laughed.

Lee, Fred, George, Jenna and Maggie were glaring daggers at Snape.

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

**"No - he wouldn't, she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"Agreed" said Isabel, Kenny and Belloc, who needed a bit more of proof to hate that man.

**"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Duncan. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

"That's what everyone wants to know" drawled Malfoy

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly,**

"Do you and Ron have a competition of who snores louder?" Duncan asked Neville while the Hall laughed.

"Ron always wins" said Neville, causing Ron to stop laughing

**but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind**

Harry and Snape scowled at the Occlumancy reference

-** he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours - but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

**"I am SO needed for something to distract me…" muttered Duncan in the bed next to him.**

**"Don't caught fire to anything." Harry said.**

Duncan, feeling very mature, stuck out his tongue at him.

**"Go to sleep, Har"**

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

"So, no pressure, Evans"

**"You've got to eat some breakfast."**

**"I don't want anything."**

**"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

**"I'm not hungry." Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

"You need to eat, even if you are nervous" said Margaret

**"Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

The Hall snorted

"**That is going to help him so much" snorted a very pale Duncan**

"You were nervous" said Maggie impressed

"What was your first clue?" said Duncan sarcastically

"He was close to fainting" said Ron completely serious.

"You seem to do that a lot" said Belloc.

"Not funny, Dad. Not funny at all." Shuddered Duncan. The night of the party still gave him nightmares.

**Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages. By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

"It's the contrary to Muggle sports" Kenny said

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row.**

"Really Harry, really?" Dean asked, snorting.

**As a surprise for Harry and Duncan, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said Evans for Presidents, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath.**

"You guys have no idea how much that helped me,"

**Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.**

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry, Duncan and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green). Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

Duncan grinned at Harry, Ron and Angelina, who grinned back.

"Okay men" said Duncan, sounding like Wood.

"And women," reminded him Angelina

"And women" agreed Duncan. "This is it"

"The big one" said Harry

"The one we've all been waiting for," said Ron

"We know Duncan's speech by heart" Harry told the Hall. "We were in the team last year."

"Shut up, you two. "said Duncan, still sounding like Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He then gave the Hall his best "Or else…" look.

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." Everyone looked confused

"**Okay, men," he said.**

Some students laughed

**"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

Some more

**"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

More

**"The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

**"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

**"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."**

More laugh

"**Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."**

**"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

And more

**The Evans followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

**"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her**.

"With Gryffindor versus Slytherin? Highly doubtful, Hooch," Margaret snorted.

**Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Duncan thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

Many laughed at this line.

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Evans for Presidents over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

"Glad to know that we helped" said Hermione

**"Mount your brooms, please." Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle**. **Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.**

Lee started talking in his commentarist voice

**"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor – what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -"**

Cue laughs and Angelina's blush

**"JORDAN!"**

**"Sorry, Professor." The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

**"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Duncan Rosenblatt, a good find of Oliver Wood's –**

"Only a good find?" said Kenny.

**back to Johnson and - no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes - Flint flying like an eagle up there - he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle - that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and - OUCH - that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger - Quaffle taken by the Slytherins - that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger - sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which –"**

"Jeeze, Lee, thanks." Fred snorted.

**-"nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes - she's really flying - dodges a speeding Bludger - the goal posts are ahead - come on, now, Angelina - Keeper Bletchley dives - misses - GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

Duncan's friends and Gryffindor cheered.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

**"Budge up there, move along."**

**"Hagrid!" Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

**"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

**"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet, Duncan has already started moving."**

"I am a Chaser, he is a Seeker. I have to start moving earlier than him" Said Duncan in a "Duh!" voice

**"Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry. Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

**"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

"Good plan" muttered Moody and Belloc

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings.**

**Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches,**

Fred and Gorge looked sheepish

**and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

**Duncan was feeling like numb.**

"Oh God" said Maggie

**He was incredibly nervous, but when he passed the Quaffle to Angelina, those feelings disappeared_. I only have to focus,_ he thought. _I only have to focus and try to score…hope Harry catch the Snitch soon_.**

"The shortest the game, the better I would feel" said Duncan

"**All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he dodged a Bludger for a few inches.**

**"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Rosenblatt, and speeds toward the - wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

"Really professional" snorted Grace

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch -all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch. Harry was faster than Higgs - he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead - - he put on an extra spurt of speed –**

**WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below - Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

Cue protests, shouts and glares

**"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors. Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again. Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"What?"

**"What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

**"Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

"Oh" the Purebloods said in understanding

"**But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him. Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

**"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. "So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating"**

Laughs

**"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

**"I mean, after that open and revolting foul"**

"You have to have guts to say that in front of McGonnagall" Alicia chuckled

**"Jordan, I'm warning you -"**

**"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure,**

"Sarcasm aside" snorted Duncan

**so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Johnson, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession." It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened.**

"What happened?" asked Margaret a bit panicked

**His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off.**

"Someone is jinxing the broom!" gasped Isabel, clutching Harry's arm tightly, as if reminding herself that he was right there.

**Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal- posts - he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out - and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

"Hold still Harry!" yelled Maggie, having gotten way into the book

**Duncan felt a strange feeling. Turning around in the middle of a race for the Quaffle, he saw his cousin trying not to fall. His blood ran cold.**

**"HARRY!" gasped Duncan, making a detour and flying towards his cousin at full speed.**

"Yes! C'mon Duncan!" was heard among the Hall

**Lee was still commentating.**

"**Why hasn't anyone noticed?" Margaret interrupted, going out of her mind with worry.**

**"Slytherin in possession - Flint with the Quaffle - passes Spinnet - passes Bell - hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose - only joking, Professor - Slytherins score - A no..."**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely.**

"Only Duncan" said Belloc nervously

**It was carrying- him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went. Duncan couldn't reach him.**

**"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have..." Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands.**

"FINALLY!" yelled Margaret, Belloc, and Isabel

**His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

"NO!" cried the Hall

**"NO!" cried Duncan, trying to catch him if he fall.**

**"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

"Nope. Only dark magic could interfere with a broom," Remus stated, frowning.

**"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic - no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand." At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

**"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

**"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape - look."**

"Why you little…?" said Belloc, his eyes blazing.

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

Belloc gave a growl so animalistic that people started inching away from him

"**He's doing something - jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

**"What should we do?"**

**"Leave it to me." Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good - every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still, the same happened to Duncan. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"Disgusting cheater" muttered Kenny angrily

**"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately. Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

Belloc's and Remus's eyes narrowed, why it keeps mentioning Quirrell?

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well- chosen words. Bright blue flames**

"Thanks for taught me that spell, Dun"

"Thanks to you for using it"

**shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes. It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row - Snape would never know what had happened.**

"Except I do now, Granger," Snape growled, while everyone laughed or showed that they were impressed with her magic at such a young age.

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

**"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

Neville blushed, especially when many laughed at the image that was presented at those words.

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick - he hit the field on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.**

"Holy sh—"

"Rosenblatt!" Minerva interrupted before Belloc could finish, causing many people to laugh, especially when Duncan spoke.

"What? I wasn't doing anything this time!"

**"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

**"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference - Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results - Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though. He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron, Duncan and Hermione.**

**"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

**"Stupid, greasy git." Muttered Duncan**

"Agreed" mumbled Belloc, having changed his mind about the man

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?" Harry, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Duncan decided on the truth.**

**"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

"Fluffy?" Kenny and Jenna questioned Hagrid, who just shrugged.

**"Fluffy?"**

**"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"**

"Yes?" asked Isabel eagerly

**"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

**"But Snape's trying to steal it." Insisted Duncan**

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

**"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione. The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.**

**"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"**

"You've also got to do the same for the counter curse, Granger." Snape snapped

"**I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"**

"HAGRID!" Many of the teachers semi-shouted, shaking their heads at Hagrid, who just blushed.

**"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"I was!" Hagrid said, before Lee could ask who would want to read next.

"I would, Lee." Ginny stated, grabbing the book from Lee while smiling.

* * *

**Another over! I am still wondering about what Duncan could see in the Mirror, so now, instead of a pop question, there will be a vote.**

**1- Duncan see himself in Kaiju form, surronded of people accepting him**

**2-Duncan see himself with his parents (noting that he _had_ to run away from his home, and he had never met his Dad at that time, it seems plausible)**

**R&R!**


	18. The mirror of Erised

**I don't own FB or HP. Enjoy.**

* * *

Just then, a tall Ravenclaw girl grabbed the book. Her name was Rosezelene Erza.

"Can I read, Professor?" she asked.

"Go ahead, miss Erza"

**The Mirror of Erised,"**

Harry blanched at the chapter title and Duncan was looking tense. Ron was glancing at Harry nervously until he realized with a start that everyone will hear what he saw in the mirror also.

**Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.**

Hermione suddenly started laughing hysterically and Ron, Harry and Duncan started laughing with her after figuring out what was funny.

Everyone was looking at the four like they had suddenly said Snape was like a cuddly teddy bear…except for Maggie who started laughing with the other four.

"We'll explain after the book is over," said Ron chuckling. "But you'll figure it out in the end."

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.**

**No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

Minerva rolled her eyes. "You could have made it warmer, Severus,"

Snape didn't comment.

**"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

Harry wasn't that insulted now as people glared at the pale boy. That was one of the best Christmas's he's had.

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Duncan did the complete opposite**

"How strange" said Maggie wryly

**And glared murderously at him**

**Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next.**

A few glares and exasperated looks were directed toward the Slytherin boy.

**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick.**

Maggie let out a laugh and Margaret lips twitched

**So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry and Duncan about having no proper family.**

"They HAVE a proper family!" yelled angrily Margaret, Belloc, Maggie and the Weasleys

**It was true that Harry and Duncan weren't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry and Duncan had signed up at once.**

"I should have known they were too eager to sign up," muttered Minerva to herself.

**Harry didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had.**

Sirius was looking sadly at Harry.

**Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.**

Charlie grinned remembering how much mum freaked out when his favorite baby Horntail caught his hair on fire.

Mrs. Weasley noticed Charlie chuckling and knew why. She scowled.

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

**"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

"Wouldn't make much difference" said Belloc

**"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

**"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them**.

"My voice doesn't _drawl,_" drawled Malfoy. Everyone just game him pointed looks.

**"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose — that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

"Of course," muttered Kenny.

**"WEASLEY!"**

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

**"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

"I would reacted the same way" said Duncan

"You DID reacted the same way, only some years after" Hermione reminded him.

"**Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."**

"Cue growls"

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

**"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him —"**

"Sorry, I got them first" said Duncan wryly

"**I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

**"Me too" said Duncan**

**"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

"Yeah it does" smiled some people

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

**"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular.**

**Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

Nearly everyone smiled at the description.

"**How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

**"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

**"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron,**

The twins gaped at Ron before turning to Hermione.

"You've corrupted our sweet, innocent brother!" accused the twins.

A few people laughed.

**tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

**"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

**"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

Almost everyone snorted.

McGonagall started muttering about nosy children.

**"You_what_?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here — I've told yeh — drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

**"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

**"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere — just give us a hint — I know I've read his name somewhere."**

Hermione and Ron glared at Harry for different reasons. Harry gave a sheepish smile.

Hermione was glaring because they could have figured out everything so much quicker. She had had the book in her room the whole time…

Ron was annoyed because they wasted hours in the library for nothing.

**"I'm sayin' nothin', said Hagrid flatly.**

**"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in_Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century_, or_Notable Magical Names of Our Time_; he was missing, too, from_Important Modern Magical Discoveries_, and_A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_.**

"I had taken a few books from the library in case there were a few curious students," explained Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling.

**And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

Hermione, Lupin, and Duncan smiled.

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Duncan looked at books randomly and Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one.**

"I've never been in there," said the twins wistfully.

Harry, Duncan and Ron exchanged looks.

**These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts.**

**"What are you looking for, boy?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry.**

A few people groaned.

"Wrong answer, Harry," said Lupin amused.

"We need to teach you to lie better," said Belloc thoughtfully.

Mrs. Weasley started muttering that Belloc needs to work on his parenting skills. (If only she knew)

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.**

"The horror!" yelled the twins and then pretended to faint in their armchairs.

"**You'd better get out, then. Go on — out!"**

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other three had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for a fortnight, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing.**

A forthnight? That's enough library for the whole year for me!" said Kenny. A few people snorted

**What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

"Fat chance"

**Five minutes later, Ron, Duncan and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

**"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."**

"I doubt Ron would willingly look in a library if he's a Weasley," said Bill amused. "During Christmas vacation no less."

"**And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."**

**"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

"Muggles who fix people's teeth" said Hermione

"Who torture people" argued Duncan

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel.**

Bill was grinning.

**They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork — bread, English muffins, marshmallows — and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

"And vice-versa," muttered Draco.

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family — in this case, his grandfather.**

Ron and his parents flushed.

**However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all.**

**He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send_him_, we can afford to lose_him_."**

A few people started snickering.

"That's because Seamus bought it retail," said Ron and snorted as if that was the most stupid thing anyone could have ever done.

**On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.**

A few people looked sad. Sirius, Belloc, Margaret and Lupin exchanged looks, still remembering that the cousins were going to get spoiled this Christmas.

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

**"Merry Christmas," said Duncan sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

**"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

**"What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry' and Duncan's.**

"Really, Ronald?" said Hermione and she rolled her eyes.

**Duncan picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was_To Duncan, from Hagrid_. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Duncan blew it — it sounded a bit like an owl.**

A few people smiled sadly and made mental notes to thank Hagrid later.

A** second, very small parcel contained a note.**

**_We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia_. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.**

**"That's friendly," said Harry while Duncan facepalmed.**

Everyone looked at Harry bewildered. Mr. Weasley was the only one looking intrigued.

"That's the best present they've ever given me," said Duncan shrugging.

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

**"_Weird!_" he said, 'What a shape! This is_money_?"**

**"You can keep it," said Duncan, laughing at how pleased Ron was.**

"Like father, like son," said Mrs. Weasley and shook her head fondly of her husband's obsession with Muggle items.

Mr. Weasley looked at Ron proudly who blushed.

"**Hagrid and my aunt and uncle — so who sent these?"**

**"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mum. I told her you didn't expect any presents and — oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you two a Weasley sweater."**

"What's wrong with that?" demanded the other Weasley kids except for Percy.

"N – Nothing," muttered Ron who noticed the hurt look on his mother's face.

Harry smiled. "They're really great, Mrs. Weasley."

"Thank you, dear, you're too kind," said a blushing Molly.

**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green**

"I knew you had Lily's eyes," said Mrs. Weasley and smiled sadly.

**and a large box of homemade fudge. Duncan's sweater was electric blue.**

"Thank you Molly" said Margaret

**"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's _always _maroon."**

"Oh, I didn't know you didn't want maroon, dear," said Mrs. Weasley embarrassed. "You should have said something,"

Ron was about to say what he would like, but stopped when the rest of Weasley's gave him swift glares.

"It's fine, mum," muttered Ron finally.

"**That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

**His next present also contained candy — a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione. Duncan had got a spell book from her, and a box of treats for Finem, from Harry.**

**Duncan had brought Harry a book of transfiguration. This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.**

**Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.**

So did people in the room.

Harry grinned fondly of his cloak and so did Sirius and Lupin as they remembered all the pranks they pulled with that cloak.

"You've owned an invisibility cloak all this time?" yelled the twins shocked.

Harry slowly nodded and the twins groaned.

**"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavour Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is — they're really rare, and _really _valuable."**

**"What is it?"**

**Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

**"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is — try it on."**

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Duncan yelled.**

**"It _is!_Look down!"**

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

Malfoy was slightly jealous and _had_ been coming up with a plan to nick it away somehow…

**"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"**

**Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:**

**_Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you._**

**_Use it well._**

**_A Very Merry Christmas to you._**

**There was no signature.**

"Dumby" whispered Duncan

**Harry stared at the note. Ron and Duncan were admiring the cloak.**

**"I'd give _anything _for one of these," he said. "_Anything_. What's the matter?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?**

"Definitely," said Lupin grinning. "I remember when he first showed it to us,"

Snuffles growled

"What happened?" asked Harry quickly.

"Well, James had just showed it to us in our room and after everyone tried it on James asked if anyone wanted to go pranking under the cloak. Wormtail and I declined and Sirius wasn't too keen since that meant skipping lunch. So, James put on the cloak and the door opened and closed. Sirius took three second to decide before he ran towards the door and crashed into James who was still in the room. They were in such an awkward position that they swore to each other they wouldn't mention it. Neither knew that I had a camera with me that I had bewitched to work on Hogwart's grounds."

The rather evil smirk on Lupin's face had gotten more pronounced. Harry realized that Lupin was showing his Marauder side for once.

Snuffles was staring at Lupin in horror and everyone was laughing.

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

The twins pouted.

"**Merry Christmas!"**

**"Hey, look — Harry and Duncan got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.**

**"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Duncan's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

"I was joking, mum," said Fred before his mother opened her mouth.

"**Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly.

**"I hate maroon," Ron moaned half-heartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

**"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid — we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

"You switch sweaters," accused Ginny half-heartily.

"You may never know, baby sis," said George who winked.

Ginny stuck her tongue out.

**"What's all this noise?"**

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

**"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

**"I — don't — want —" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

Everyone laughed. Mrs. Weasley was looking proudly at the twins that they cared so much about family and Christmas spirit.

**"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

Molly and Arthur tried not to look sad that they were mentioning Percy a lot.

Percy was shifting guiltily in his seat and shook his head to get rid of all the memories with his family.

**Harry or Duncan had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce –**

"We haven't eaten in ages!" moaned Ron.

"We'll eat after this chapter," said Mrs. Weasley.

Everyone perked up at the thought of food soon.

**and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favours were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice.**

**Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet,**

A few people couldn't help but give the Headmaster incredulous looks as if the man had finally gone mad.

Dumbledore chuckled softly.

**and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Duncan watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Duncan's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

Now everyone turned to give the usually stern witch bewildered looks that McGonagall was even capable of _giggling._

Minerva cursed the boy for being too observant as she looked at an opposite wall impassively after receiving a bemused look from Albus.

**When Harry and Duncan finally left the table, they were laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

"The poor mice!" chorused a few people sadly.

**Harry, Duncan and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds.**

**Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron.**

Ron tried not to look smug.

**He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

There were a few somber nods and Percy tried not to look peeved.

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

Fred and George couldn't help but sigh, wishing that the power-hungry moron would stop acting like a git; for their parents' sake at least.

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster.**

**Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.**

**His father's…this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air._Use it well_, the note had said.**

**He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.**

**_Use it well_.**

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake.**

**The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

Remus and Sirius couldn't help but exchange grins, remembering when James accidently ran into Filch, forgetting to add his name to the Marauders' Map when they first made it.

**Ron grunted in his sleep and Duncan rolled in his bed. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back — his father's cloak — he felt that this time — the first time — he wanted to use it alone.**

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

**"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

**Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library. He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was.**

"You used – "

"The bloody cloak – "

"For the first time – "

"To go into the library?!"

The twins promptly fainted after their little rant much to the amusement of the people in the room.

Bill got up exasperated to wake them up and motioned for Tonks to continue.

**He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

"You're saying – "

"Your floating arm – "

"Creeps you out –"

"Among all other things?!"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," muttered Bill as he tried to revive the fainting twins again, ignoring the chuckling in the room.

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood.**

A few people shivered.

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.**

Lupin groaned in frustration with Harry's luck much to the confusion of the room.

Harry's face flushed.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence — the book was screaming!

"Of all the books in the Restricted Section you grab the screaming one," said Daphne and Kenny amused before they like looked at each other and grinned.

**Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, ear-splitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside — stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.**

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armour. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going.**

**Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armour near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

**"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."**

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

Duncan and Belloc started muttering curses under their breath.

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him — the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.**

Lupin was snickering at Snuffles much to Tonks' surprise; not seeing or hearing about this side of the werewolf often.

Sirius glowered at his best friend.

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

**It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

Severus froze. He was the one who placed the mirror in that particular room. He remembered seeing Lily… he painfully and with force pushed the thoughts aside and glanced at Harry's pale complexion curiously. Were they going to found out what Harry saw?

"I need to leave." muttered Harry suddenly before jumping up and disappearing in the doors.

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top:_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_.**

"I show not your face, but your heart's desire." said Isabel softly, understanding now why Harry had left.

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it.**

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming.**

Everyone sat up straighter and looked at the book and the doors worriedly.

**He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed — for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

**But the room was empty.**

**Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.**

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder — but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

Dumbledore sighed sadly remembering Harry's reaction with the encounter of the mirror. He knew it was wrong to not move the mirror, but it seemed unfair towards Harry not to allow him to see his family for the first time.

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air – she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

A few people were paling realizing what Harry was seeing in the mirror.

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes —_her eyes are just like mine_, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green — exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time.**

A few people were looking like they were in pain hearing the description of Lily Evans. Snape's face was tight as he tried desperately not to allow his emotions to show.

**The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

Sirius and Lupin looked at each other with grief.

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

**"Mum?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

Almost everyone in the room was looking teary or bright-eyed as the confirmation of what Harry was seeing in the mirror was proven. Harry's hearts' desire was to see his parents.

**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees — Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.**

"T – That I – is s – so s – sad," stuttered Mrs. Weasley; tears pouring down her face. She was remembering how sweet Lily was, how lively James was; how unfair that Harry wasn't able to meet the sweetest couple she ever had the pleasure to talk to.

Mr. Weasley wrapped an arm around his Molly comforting, hiding his pain of the unfairness. Margaret was crying softly and Belloc was trying to confort her

**The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

Lupin, Dumbledore, and Snape all sighed quietly, knowing the consequence and dangers of seeing the mirror.

**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.**

**"You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly. Duncan just stared, eager to see it too.**

Only a few people could give half-hearted glares towards the red-head, still saddened of what they've heard.

**"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."**

**"I'd like to see your mum and dad," Ron said eagerly.**

**"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**

**"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people.**

"No tact at all," muttered Hermione, her words sounding bitter.

**Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three-headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?**

**"That mirror is not good" muttered Margaret.**

Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron and Duncan covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

**"I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

**"_No!_" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."**

**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armour.**

**"It's here — just here — yes!"**

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

**"See?" Harry whispered.**

**"I can't see anything." Said Duncan**

**"Look! Look at them all…there are loads of them…"**

**"I can only see you."**

**"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

**"Look at me!" he said.**

**"Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

**"No — I'm alone — but I'm different — I look older — and I'm head boy!"**

"WHAT?!" yelled the twins in horror.

"**_What?_"**

"Great minds think alike," said the twins rather seriously.

**"I am — I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to — and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup — I'm Quidditch captain, too."**

Hermione couldn't help but looked bewildered.

"_That was Ron's deepest desire, to be Head Boy and Quidditch captain? "_Hermione thought wryly.

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

**"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

**"How can it? All my family are dead — let me have another look —"**

**"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."**

**Duncan stepped towards the mirror, and the next second he gave a gasp of surprise.**

"I need to leave, too" said Duncan in earnest and he ran of the room.

**Harry and Ron looked at him in alarm. Duncan could only stare, a lump formed in his throath.**

**The first thing he noticed was all his friends beaming at him, waving at him.**

Everyone looked sad at this.

**"I can see you both, Hermione, Maggie…" he said, his voice quivering**

**Then he noticed a beautiful, short-haired woman. She had brown eyes, just like his.**

**"I can see Mum, too." He whispered.**

"Me. He is seeing me" Margaret whispered teary-eyed.

**He noted a tall, blonde-haired man standing right behind him. His eyes watered.**

**"I am seeing Dad" he told them, who were staring at him in surprise. "Is the first time I see him" he continued.**

Belloc was founding very hard to restrain himself for crying. His son's deepest desire, he was a part of it.

"_It's my entire fault_" he thought sadly

**He spotted himself, and the next second he backed away with a yell of horror.**

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" yelled the entire Hall.

**Ron and Harry looked at him in alarm.**

**"I am…I am not me. I am not me" was the only thing he said**

"I think I know what it means" Belloc said

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

A few people groaned under their breaths.

"Quick!"

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron, Duncan and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing — did the cloak work on cats?**

"I always wondered…" mused Remus, thinking back to his Hogwarts days and being under the cloak.

**After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**

**"This isn't safe — she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry and Duncan out of the room.**

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

**"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

**"No."**

**"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid, Duncan?"**

**"No…you go…"**

**"I know what you're thinking about, guys, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

Snape felt slightly sorry for the Evans boys. He knew from experience how addicting the mirror could be and the side effects it caused to a person. He permitted himself a sharp look at Albus, suspicious that he had allowed Harry and Duncan to see the mirror on purpose.

**"Why not?"**

**"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it — and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

**"You sound like Hermione."**

"HEY!"

**"I'm serious, guys, don't go."**

**But Harry and Duncan only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.**

**And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Duncan knew what was seeing in front of him. They sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop them from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.**

**Except —**

**"So — back again, Harry, Duncan?"**

A few people raised their eyebrows.

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice, Duncan stiffed. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore.**

Bill noted that even in Evans's first year he was directed by their first name from the Headmaster.

**They must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

**"I — I didn't see you, sir."**

**"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

A few of the adults hid their surprise that the cousins was even getting scolded for being out past curfew.

"**So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry,"you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

**"I didn't know it was called that, Sir."**

**"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

**"It — well — it shows me my family —"**

**"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."**

**"How did you know —?"**

**"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently.**

This made Lupin rather curious, memories from the past being brought up. James had complained long ago that Dumbledore wanted to borrow his cloak. Why would Albus need James' cloak when he didn't need it? He convinced himself with effort that the cloak would not have changed what happened at Godric's Hallow.

"**Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

**"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"**

**Harry thought. Then Duncan said slowly, "It shows us what we want…whatever we want…"**

**"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them.**

The Weasley's looked at Ron, deciding to talk to him in the break.

**You, Duncan, because of the reasons we spoke at the beginning of the year, you see acceptance and your family together.**

"Understable"

**"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, kids, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

Malfoy had been silent, not daring to say a word. He was a bit disappointed that Potter wasn't punished, but the grudged sympathy overrode it.

Snape was thinking along the same lines of his God-son.

**Harry and Duncan stood up.**

**"Sir — Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"**

**"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."**

There were a few quiet chuckles.

**"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

Hermione couldn't help but looked amused about Harry's lack of sense to realize how personal the question was.

**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks."**

**Harry stared.**

So did most in the room.

**"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

"I'll remember that, Albus," said Minerva amused.

Dumbledore merely nodded, his eyes twinkling.

**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.**

"That's the end of the chapter" said Rosezelene

Two pairs of eyes, two Green and two Brown peered at the Hall. Duncan and Harry walked slowly to their seats.

Duncan had just sat when he noticed his Dad staring at him.

Duncan only nodded.

"i didn´t understand it at first. But when i realized it...when i awoke in the desert i realized that it was that memory, like a living nightmare. With no way out." Duncan whispered so low that Belloc, with his sensitive hearing had trouble hearing.

Belloc had never knew that duncan felt that way. "T_his is going to be more difficult that i thought_" he thought

* * *

**All right, people, another over! Any ideas, PM me!**

**Pop question: We have talked about Duncan's deepest desire, and his Patronus. What about his boggart?**

**REVIEW!**

**H.E.B.**


	19. Talks and Hunts

**I am SORRY for taking so long, I didn't know how to do it. Allright, this chapter is the talk about "Why Belloc left Margaret and Duncan". It will also have, later, brother-brother bonding between Duncan and Harry, but not in the normal way. Enjoy!**

* * *

Dumbledore announced dinner and the empty plates filled themselves with food. Duncan and Harry looked at each other.

"Do you want to go to the Forbidden Forest?" asked Harry cheekily. "You know, like the old times"

"Sure. I want to know how well you can hunt." Duncan answered.

"We will better grab the Invisibility Cloak, just in case. And I prefer to teamwork, Dun"

"All right. I have some things to tell you. Quick." And, silently and not being noticed by anyone, they slipped towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

* * *

Sirius, Remus and Arthur's heads were just intrigued of one line of the last chapter. "_Is the first time I see him_". What does that means?

Arthur remembered that Duncan had said something to Harry about his Dad.

Sirius recalled that Duncan sometimes talked about his mother, but about his father nothing at all.

Remus remembered that Duncan had said that he never met his Dad.

The two men and the dog did their way towards the blond-haired man.

"Belloc, can we have a word with you? In private? Now?" Arthur asked.

Belloc simply nodded and followed them

* * *

Harry and Duncan were covered with the Invisibility Cloak, and they were heading towards the Hall when they heard voices in a classroom. They moved carefully, trying to not being noticed, when they recognized the voices. Remus, Mr. Weasley, Snuffles and Belloc. The cousins stood there. Finally, their curiosity overpowered their common sense and they moved nearer to listen.

"Would you like to explain how is that Duncan said that that was the first time he saw you?" asked Remus, angered. Snuffles growled.

"What do you expect me to explain? Duncan said the truth."

Duncan's heart seemed covered in ice. He knew what was going to happen.

"_No…" _he thought_. "No…"_

"_Are you all right, Dun_?"

"_No, I am not_." Panted Duncan. "_He is going to tell them that he left me, and they will ask why. I don't know if I want to hear it_"

"The truth?!" snarled Mr. Weasley. "Is that true, then? Your own son never knew you?"

"He met me this year." Said shortly Belloc

"What reason can you have to leave your wife and son?!" shouted Mr. Weasley.

"I didn't want to abandon Margaret, but I had to when Duncan was born"

Harry was hit with a wave of emotions, so potent that left him breathless. Anger, pain, and an overpowering sadness.

"_Dunc_?" he called, worried. No response. He couldn't even feel him. "_Dunc?!"_

Duncan felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart.

"_So I was right._" He thought, fighting back tears. "_It's my fault. He left because of me. It's my fault_"

Snuffles was now trying to lunge towards the man, which he couldn't because Mr. Weasley had grabbed him.

Remus's shouting was interrupted by Belloc.

"If someone of your family was in danger, you wouldn't have done everything to keep them safe?"

"What this have to do with…?"

"I left because I wanted to protect him. If I stayed, Duncan would have been in danger. I thought he would be safe with his mother."

"_Safe_?" Duncan thought incredulously. "_**Safe?**_"

His dad had left him with the excuse of _protect _him, but he never check on Duncan if he was fine, or anything. He had dumped him there with his mother. He had abandoned them. Duncan couldn't help the words that came out from his mouth:

"You gave me up."

"Duncan?" Belloc then sniffed the air and said, "You and your cousin are underneath that cloak of yours, aren't you?"

Pulling off the invisibility cloak, Harry and Duncan stared accusingly at Belloc.

"You gave me up." Duncan repeated.

"I did not give you up. You are my son. I would never give you up. For anything." Belloc stated. "I left to protect you and your mother, Duncan."

"To protect us, you say." Duncan said angered. "Then explain to me, just what did we need to be protected from?!"

"The counsel." Belloc answered. "You saw how they reacted when I introduced you to them. How do you think they would have reacted if you were just a small child? Abbadon and Astaroth, my own advisors, would have killed you easily back then."

"I handled those two just fine! Why would I need to be protected from them?!" Duncan protested.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? 'Your own advisors'? 'I handled them fine'? What's that supposed to mean?" Remus interrupted.

"Those traitors made an attempt on Duncan's life earlier this year. With our combined efforts we managed to beat them, but many people were injured in the process." Belloc explained. "And yes, they were my advisors at the time." Belloc then turned to his son. "Now Duncan, please listen to me. Had the counsel ever found out about you before this year, well, the counsel, they are like lions. When one male challenges and overthrows the Alpha, or in this case, the king, he kills all of the previous kings offspring and then takes the previous kings mate as his own."

Duncan looked shocked by this information.

"I think I can see why you left Duncan and Aunt Margaret now." Harry stated. "Had you not left, and you were overthrown, and by overthrown I think you mean killed, Aunt Margaret and Duncan would be dead or worse by now."

"And because you did leave, if you were overthrown by those barbaric people on your counsel, Duncan and Margaret would be safe because the counsel would not know about them." Mr. Weasley finished.

Belloc nodded. "Exactly."

"Are you really a king?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I am."

"King of what?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"That will be explained in time. Now, I think we should head back to dinner. People might be getting worried." Belloc smiled and started to walk back to the great hall.

"Wait Dad!" Duncan called out.

Belloc stopped and turned around. "Yes, Duncan?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. You were just protecting us." Duncan apologized.

"It's alright, Duncan. I did not explain why I left, so you had a very good reason to be angry with me. Honestly, I would have been surprised if you had not gotten mad." Smiled Belloc.

"Ok. We will join you later, we were going to…a place when we heard you" said Harry

"Don't be too late." Belloc said and walked through the door.

He and Duncan disappeared with the cloak and ran away.

* * *

He sniffed the air and, crouched, advanced quietly. The deer was near, immobile and relaxed. He glanced towards his hunt partner and they smiled, showing the pointed teeth. Perfect.

He saw his partner close his eyes a moment.

He did the same…and his instincts overpowered his mind.

He ran nimbly, watching with delight the deer's movements. He lunged forwards, grabbed it and…

CRUNCH

With a sickening crack, the deer's neck broke. Duncan grinned pleased and Harry started flaying their prey.

Blood was surrounding the two halfbreeds as they ate contented. This was the first prey they hunted together.

"Shall we go now?" asked Harry, his face dripping blood. He licked it and waited for Duncan's answer, which he couldn't give at the moment since he was devouring with relish a leg.

"We should." He said. "What if we take a little bath in the Lake first?" he asked. "Didn't knew you can eat that much" he said amused. Harry and he had fought over a leg, and the raven-haired boy had eaten it in a couple of good bites.

"Hidden talents" he shrugged.

**TWENTY MINUTES LATER**

Duncan was getting tired of the wait. He sniffed the air, nope, no trace of the scent.

"Aren't you done yet?" he asked irritated. Harry had spent good ten minutes in dry himself with his firebreath.

"Done." He said cheerfully and he put on his shirt.

They stood and started running towards the castle, laughing. Duncan was joyful, so that's what it feels, having someone just like you.

* * *

**So, how it was? Review! And an special thanks for my Beta, Dragon Halfling!**

**Pop question: I have deciede that more characters should show for the Reading. Who would you want? (It can be of the Potterverse of the Firebreather Universe)**


	20. Nicholas Flamel

**Two updates in a day! Enjoy!**

* * *

It took some minutes, but finally Duncan and Harry came into the Hall. They looked joyful.

Duncan sat in his seat and started stroking Snuffles's fur. He felt better now that he knew the reasons of his father leaving him, but it still hurt.

**Nicholas Flamel**," read Kenny. Many people oohed and ahed over the possibility of finding out who the mysterious man is.

**Dumbledore had convinced the cousins not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk.**

"What a waste!" cried the twins as they shook their heads in despair.

**Harry and Duncan wished they could forget what they'd seen in the mirror as easily, but they couldn't. They started having nightmares.**

Harry would rather take the nightmares he had in his first year than the ones he is having now.

**Over and over again Harry dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.**

Almost everyone shivered.

**Duncan dreamed every night of some kind of volcanic chamber, looking into the huge pitch of lava under him. The ground under his feet seemed to vanish and he fell into the lava, waking up screaming.**

Belloc's head perked up and Duncan flinched horribly.

You—" Kenny interrupted himself, surprised. Duncan, whose eyes were red, nodded, before continuing to stroke Snuffles' fur.

"_Another thing that was true_" he shivered

**"You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry and Duncan told him about these dreams.**

**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry and Duncan being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"), and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**

**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere.**

Harry gave Hermione a sheepish look. Margaret smirked, already figured it out.

**Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry and Duncan had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again.**

**Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits.**

The twins, Duncan Harry exchanged looks, remembering the grueling practices Wood forced them through.

**The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but the Evans were on Wood's side.**

**If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, the cousins found that they had fewer nightmares when they were tired out after training.**

**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.**

**The twins couldn't help but smirk remembering Wood's red in the face expression as everyone chuckled.**

**"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**

**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.**

Many people laughed at the words, and George, wanting to cheer Duncan up at least a little, purposefully fell off the Hogwarts bench.

"**_Snape's _refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud.**

Fred clapped his brother on the back as he laughed.

**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.**

**"It's not _my _fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**

Almost everyone snorted.

**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch…**

Snape rolled his eyes, already annoyed with the angst against him.

**The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but the cousins headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where they found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry, Duncan and Ron thought was very good for her.**

**"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen—" He caught sight of Duncan's face.**

**"What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**

"Weren't you needing to concentrate?" said Hermione

"I can stop when one of my best friends looks like the Bloody Baron!"

**Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry and Duncan told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**

**Don't play," said Hermione at once.**

**"Say you're ill," said Ron.**

"Not going to work!" sang the twins.

**"Pretend to break your leg," Duncan suggested.**

**"_Really _break your leg," said Ron.**

"Still wouldn't work!" yelled the twins.

**"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**

"There should be." muttered Charlie disapprovingly.

"There is, but I wasn't at that moment" said Duncan

**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.**

I did," Neville said, his voice full of anger.

**Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the counter curse.**

"Thanks for that." said Neville gratefully.

Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling.

**"What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry, Duncan and Ron.**

**"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**

Malfoy tried not to cower from the looks he was receiving.

"Twenty points from Slytherin" said McGonagall

**"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"**

**Neville shook his head.**

**"I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.**

**"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**

**There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.**

**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas.**

**He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**

Neville blushed.

**"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Duncan said.**

**"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin." Said Harry**

**Almost everyone smiled at Harry for his kindness. Only Malfoy, Snape and the Slytherin were glowering.**

**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.**

**"Thanks, Harry…I think I'll go to bed…D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**

**As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.**

**"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever —" He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**

Harry grinned guiltily at Hermione who looked peeved.

"**One second…" said Duncan slowly, looking at Harry who nodded.**

"Well, freaking finally. I was worried you'd gotten your father's brains!" Margaret said. Belloc had started laughing before suddenly stopping.

"OY!" He said loudly, everyone laughing at him and Duncan smiling lightly.

**"_I've found him!_" he whispered.**

**"I've found Flamel! I _told _you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here — listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, _and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'_!"**

**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.**

Hermione blushed while the Hall laughed.

**"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry, Duncan and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**

**"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**

"Light?" said Maggie.

**"_Light_?" said Duncan, **

Maggie blushed.

"_She looks cute when she bluses_" thought Duncan. "_Wait did I just thought that?!"_

"_Yes you did_" sang Harry, waving his eyebrows. Duncan scowled.

In the Ravenclaw table, Rosezelene and her Gryffindor friend, Kass, were trying to contain their laughter.

Lets just say, they failed miserably

**but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.**

**At last she found what she was looking for.**

**"I knew it! I _knew _it!"**

**"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.**

**"_Nicolas Flamel," _she whispered dramatically, "_is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone_!"**

A few people looked confused, but others straightened in their seats.

**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected. .**

**"The what?" said Harry, Duncan and Ron.**

**"Oh, _honestly_, don't you two read? Look – read that, there."**

**She pushed the book toward them, and the boys read:**

**_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._**

**_There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)._**

**"See?" said Hermione, when the boys had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**

**"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! _Anyone _would want it."**

**"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that _Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_," said Ron.**

**"Yeah, you are right. He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?" chuckled Duncan**

"Not exactly." said Dumbledore amused.

**The next morning in Defence Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry, Duncan and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Philosopher's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that the Evans remembered about Snape and the coming match.**

Half the room looked somber making Snape roll his eyes.

**"I'm going to play," he told Ron, Duncan and Hermione. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them…it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**

**"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Duncan.**

"How comforting." said Tonks grinning.

**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?**

"They haven't won since I was there?" asked Charlie horrified.

There were a few somber nods, including Minerva.

**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own.**

Snape looked away from any looks toward him.

**Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry and Duncan. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone?**

**Duncan didn't see how he could — yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**

Snape smirked. He was even better than the Dark Lord. But Snape's small smile went away as a sudden thought came to him before he glanced down at his arm. What if the Dark Lord called for him?

Dumbledore caught Snape's eye before he nodded that they would discuss it later

"I can teach you some mind defenses, if you want.." said Belloc. Duncan and Harry perked up.

"Hell yeah!"

**Harry and Duncan knew, when they wished the cousins good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**

Hermione grinned.

This wasn't what you'd call comforting.

**"I can't imagine why." said Belloc sarcastically.**

Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.

**Duncan was trying to focus, not in the game, but in the magic he could summon. He had been practicing, and now he could make an object catch fire willingly. He thought it would be cool to try it on Snape…**

Almost everyone looked at Duncan, surprised. Duncan chuckled a bit.

"Mr. Rosenblatt, detention with me tonight for planning on doing that!" Umbridge said. Duncan groaned and Harry, Ron and Hermione stiffed.

**Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match.**

Neville nodded. He thought they were being over dramatic.

**Little did the cousins know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**

"That would be great to see happening to someone on a broomstick." said Belloc and Margaret laughed.

The twins exchanged evil smiles.

"**Now, don't forget, it's _Locomotor Mortis_," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.**

**"I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**

**Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside.**

**"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now.**

"Oh yeah, no pressure at all," Isabel said while rolling her eyes.

**Finish the game before Snape can favour Hufflepuff too much."**

Snape tried not to scoff. He would probably cheer more for Gryffindor than _Hufflepuff._

"**The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even — blimey — Dumbledore's come to watch!"**

Snape glowered at the Headmaster who only chuckled.

**Harry's heart did a somersault.**

**"_Dumbledore?_" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.**

**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief, he was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**

**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.**

**"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look — they're off. Ouch!"**

**Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head.**

**It was Malfoy.**

**"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."**

**Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.**

**"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"**

**Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**

"I was aiming for the Slytherin behind you," said George innocently.

For some reason no one believed him.

Duncan was turning red from containing his laughter, remembering the expression on Snape's face.

**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.**

**"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter and Rosenblatt, who's got no parents,**

Belloc stood up and started walking towards Malfoy, with clear intentions of punch him. Duncan quickly held him back.

"He is not worth it."

**then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money**

All Weasley's except for Percy glared.

**you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**

More glared directed at the Slytherin boy.

Neville hid a smile.

**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.**

**"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**

The real Neville said this more confidently, with many people grinning while Kenny shouted out, "You tell 'em, Neville!"

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**

**"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**

**Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.**

**"I'm warning you, Malfoy — one more word—"**

**"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry —"**

**"What? Where?"**

**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth,**

All Quidditch fans were on the edge of their seats.

"Why in bloody hell were they in your mouth?" Someone asked and Hermione only shrugged, unsure of that herself.

**as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.**

**"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.**

**Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground.**

**Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**

Duncan, Harry and Kenny started cheering.

**"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape — she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.**

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" bellowed Moody making everyone jump and Tonks' hair to turn red.

**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches — the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**

Snape tried not to grimace.

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

Minerva nodded her head proudly. Charlie tried not to stare at Harry open-mouthed.

"**Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry and Duncan won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**

**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it — the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. Duncan jumped off his broom and started cheering with him.**

**As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped — then Harry and Duncan felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**

**"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only them could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror…been keeping busy…excellent…"**

**Snape spat bitterly on the ground. Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broom shed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now – no one could say he was just a famous name any more.**

**The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**

**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape…**

**And speaking of Snape…**

Sirius and Belloc perked up.

**A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — what was going on?**

Snape groaned under his breath.

**Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.**

"Of course," muttered many making Harry's face redden.

**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.**

**He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.**

**Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever.**

Harry and Hermione grimaced.

**Harry strained to catch what they were saying.**

**"…d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"**

**"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."**

**Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**

**"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**

**"B-b-but Severus, I —"**

**"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.**

Everyone silently agreed.

**"I-I don't know what you—"**

**"You know perfectly well what I mean."**

**An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree.**

**He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "— your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."**

"Wish I could have heard the rest." grumbled Harry.

**"B-but I d-d-don't —"**

**"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**

Belloc was looking thoughtful again.

**He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.**

**Har, where have you _been_?" Duncan asked**

**"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**

**"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this…"**

**He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them,**

"Good." said Kingsley nodding, remembering _his _days at Hogwarts when he didn't know the Poltergeist was hiding close by…

**then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**

**"So we were right, it _is _the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus' — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through —"**

Snape smirked amused that they would think he would need help with the Dark Arts.

"**So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.**

**"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Duncan.**

A few people chuckled.

"That's the end of the chapter." said McGonagall.

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	21. Norbert the norwegian ridgeback

**I am surprised, the two chapters had 1 and 2 reviews each, and the previous at them had 6. What happened to you people?**

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"**CHAPTER FOURTEEN, NORBERT THE NORWEGIAN RIDGEBACK**" Bill started, stopping when Charlie and Duncan suddenly laughed.

"You mean to tell me that there really was a dragon?" McGonagall said. The quartet and Charlie looked away.

"What do you have to do with this Charles?" Mrs. Weasley asked. Charlie looked at his mother and looked away.

"Why do you always have to be around dragons?" Remus asked.

"You mean there is more than this one?" Jenna asked frantically.

"The second _and THIRD _time wasn't a choice _of mine_." Duncan said, raising his voice a bit. Before anyone could say anything else Bill started the chapter.

**Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.**

**Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, Duncan,and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ronhad started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.**

"Wish we hadn't." Duncan mumbled, with Sirius and Remus looking at him in confusion.

**Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color coding all her notes. Harry, Duncan, and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.**

**"Hermione, the exams are ages away."**

**Ten weeks." Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."**

"But you aren't six hundred years old" Maggie reminded her.

"**But we're not six hundred years old." Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it All."**

**"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me..."**

"You really need to relax, Mione. There is no need to over study. Take it from me; I know what it can do to a person." Kenny said. Isabel and Maggie glared at him, but Kenny just shrugged his shoulders at them and pretended he didn't notice their glares.

**Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry, Duncan and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.**

**"I'll never remember this." Duncan burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window.**

"Tut, tut, aren't we testy?" said Maggie.

"Like you are one to talk." said Harry. Maggie's grin vanished and deadpanned. Duncan chuckled.

**It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming. Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"**

"All right, you are witness of miracles: First, Hagrid says You-Know-Who name, then McGonagall doesn't give you detention, and now Hagrid is in the library!" said Rosezelene.

Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He lookedvery out of place in his moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'." he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

**"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Duncan impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St -"**

"Don't yell it around, Rosenblatt. The students aren't supposed to know about the stone." Moody growled at Ron. All Ron could do was nodding his head mutely.

"**Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening.**

**"Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"**

**"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy -"**

**"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen - come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yehanythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposedter know. They'll think I've told yeh -"**

**"See you later, then." said Harry and Duncan together. Hagrid shuffled off.**

**"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.**

**"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" asked Duncan.**

**"I'm going to see what section he was in." said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.**

**"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."**

**"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him." said Harry.**

"Oh Hagrid, no." Minerva moaned, putting her head in her hands.

**"But it's against our laws." said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."**

**"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.**

**"Of course there are." said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."**

**"_Then I can't imagine what they would do to the United States_" Duncan thought amusedly.**

"They were used to it, so nothing." said Isabel.

Cue confused looks.

Again.

**"So what on earth is Hagrid up to?" said Hermione. When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them. It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.**

**"So - yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"**

**"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy." Hagrid frowned at him.**

**"0' course I can't." he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts – I s'pposeyeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."**

**"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here." said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."**

"Oh, atta girl." Belloc laughed

**Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry, Duncan, and Ron beamed at Hermione.**

**"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout - Professor Flitwick - Professor McGonagall -" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell - an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Ohyeah, Professor Snape."**

"Oh God no" grumbled Nico D'Kiaro.

**"Snape?"**

**"Yeah - yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it." Harry knew Ron, Duncan, and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything - except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.**

**"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy aren't you, Hagrid?" said Duncan anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"**

**"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore." said Hagrid proudly.**

**"Well, that's something." Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."**

**"Really? I'm at ease." Grinned Duncan.**

"You are used to high temperatures, of course you would be at ease." Harry grumbled.

"Yeah, but I suffer a lot every winter." Duncan retorted.

"**Can't, Harry, sorry." said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry and Duncan looked at it, too.**

**"Hagrid - what's that?" But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire,underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.**

"He didn't…" said Jenna.

"He did!" yelled Kass Bones

"**Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's er..."**

**"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."**

**"Won it." said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."**

"**But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.**

**"Well, I've bindoin' some readin', said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow."Got this outta the library - Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit - it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed withchicken blood every half hour. An' see here - how ter recognize diff'rent eggs - what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them." He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.**

Many people grimaced, worried for the quartet at this point.

**"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house." she said.**

"Uh, oh." said Kenny and Daphne together.

**But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire. So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.**

**"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life." Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting.**

Duncan, who was somewhat feeling better, snorted at this statement. Man, the three of them were innocent back then, definitely.

**Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry, Duncan and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts.**

**Then, one breakfast time, Finem brought Duncan another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words_: It's hatching_.**

**Ron and Duncan wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.**

"I'm with Duncan." Maggie said, making a grab of his arm as she said it. Duncan noticed it and blushed, noticing the electricity that came with the contact.

**"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"**

**"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing -"**

**"Shut up!" Harry whispered. Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard?**

"Quite a lot of the conversation." grinned Malfoy.

**Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all. Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other three during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the four of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.**

**"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside. The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it. They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath. All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes. It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.**

"Awwwww!" the girls cooed.

"He was pretty cool." Duncan said to Maggie, who had still not released his arm. Maggie noticed it and released him, blushing furiously.

**"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.**

**"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid. Duncan growled playfully at the baby dragon. It looked at him curiously and it jumped on his lap.**

"She likes you." said Charlie.

"She? Norbet's a girl?" asked Hagrid shocked.

"Yes she is."

**"I think it likes you." grinned Harry**

**"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?" Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face - he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.**

**"What's the matter?"**

**"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains - it's a kid - he's runnin' back up ter the school." Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was nomistaking him. Malfoy had seen the dragon.**

Belloc and Remus had started cursing under their breath, and Maggie had become really nervous, Duncan could smell that. Without thinking he grabbed her hand.

"It's allright." He said softly. Maggie smiled.

**Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.**

**"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."**

**"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die." They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week.**

**"Looks can be deceiving." said Belloc wisely.**

**Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. Therewere empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.**

**"I've decided to call him Norbert." said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"**

**"He's lost his marbles." Ron muttered in Duncan's ear.**

**"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment." Hagrid bit his lip.**

**"I - I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't." Duncan suddenly turned to Ron.**

**"Charlie." he said.**

**"You're losing it, too." said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"**

Charlie snorted, interrupting Bill, who understood and shook his head.

**Harry understood and grinned:**

**"No - Charlie - your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"**

**"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?" And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him. The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Duncan and Harry sitting alone in the common room,**

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Fred and George sang, many people snickering while the two teenagers blushed and looked down, growling.

**- long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.**

**"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And whenI left, he was singing it a lullaby." There was a tap on the dark window.**

**"It's Finem!" said Duncan, hurrying to let him in. "He'll have Charlie's answer!" The three of them put their heads together to read the note.**

**_Dear Ron,_**

**_How are you? Thanks for the letter - I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight onSaturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark. Send me an answer as soon as possible._**

**_Love,_**

**_Charlie_**

"Charles Weasley…" started Molly. Bill took pity of his brother and keep reading.

**They looked at one another.**

**"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloaks big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."**

**It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other three agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert - and Malfoy. There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey - would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous. Harry, Duncan and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.**

**"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me - I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me.**

"No, I don't think she would believe you." Belloc said.

"I don't think she believed me but she didn't question it." Ron said shrugging.

-**I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this." Harry, Duncan and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.**

**"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.**

**"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no - I've just remembered - Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."**

"You four have the worst luck I have ever seen." said Jenna perplexed.

"It's their two-sided luck fault." Said Ron and Hermione pointing at the Evans.

"It's not!" they responded.

"Either you are extremely lucky or extremely unlucky." Ron said.

"Agreed." said Isabel and Kenny.

**Harry, Duncan and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.**

**"It's too late to change the plan now," Duncan told Harry and Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that." They found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.**

**"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage - nothin' I can't handle." When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.**

**"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot - jus' playin' - he's only a baby, after all." The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Harry, Duncan and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling that Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.**

"You mean to tell me that you were up the Astronomy tower at one in the morning because you were helping Hagrid?" McGonagall asked guilt starting to build up in her chest at Hermione, Duncan, and Harry.

**They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.**

**"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey." said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely." From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.**

"Bye-bye teddy bear." Isabel muttered and Harry chuckled.

"So that's where all the fluff came from." Charlie mused. Everyone now chuckled, imagining a baby dragon with a teddy bear.

**"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry, Duncan and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves.**

**"Mommy will never forget you!"**

"Can't you at least say 'Daddy'?" asked Astoria Greengrass.

**How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another - even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.**

**"Nearly there!" Duncan panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower. Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.**

"YES!" Maggie shouted and then froze. "Did I say it aloud?" she asked.

"Very loudly." said Duncan rubbing his ears.

"You voiced my thoughts." came the response from around the Hall.

"**Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you -"**

**"You don't understand, Professor. Harry and Duncan Evans are coming**

"Harry and Duncan Evans."repeated a little first year.

"What's the matter with that?" asked Harry. The first year blushed.

"Well… it's just…it made you sound like brothers." he muttered.

"We are brothers." Said Duncan, while many heads turned to him. "Brothers from different parents."

Harry smiled.

**- they've got a dragon!"**

**"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!" The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiestthing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Duncan did a sort of jig.**

"Duncan doing a jig? Well, you don't see that every day." chuckled Isabel.

**"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"**

**"Don't." Harry advised him.**

"You're not a bad singer, I just didn't want us to get caught." Said Harry. Duncan blushed.

"You just had to say that."He moaned, embarrassed.

"I didn't know you liked music." Belloc said.

"You learn something new every day." Remus said with a smile.

**Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness. Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry, Duncan, and Hermione theharness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry, Duncan and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much. At last, Norbert was going... going... gone.**

Margaret, Molly, and Minerva sighed in relief; the kids would be safe from dragons this year.

**They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon - Malfoy in detention - what could spoil their happiness?**

"No, no, no, please don't jinx it" prayed Kenny

**The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.**

"Wait, how he could see you?" asked Belloc.

"**Well, well, well." he whispered, "We are in trouble."**

**They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.**

Silence. Then Belloc said:

"Are you kidding?"

"We were so careless." said Ron. Duncan and Harry nodded.

"Who would like to read?" asked Bill.

* * *

**Another over! Suggestions about next chapters are always welcomed!**

**And the winner pairings of the poll are: Duncan/Maggie, Harry/Isabel, Kenny/Fred, Draco/Jenna and Ron/Hermione**

**Pop question: I NEED to know if you want Duncan in "The man with two faces" so I will put a poll in my profile, allright?**

**REVIEW!**

**H.E.B.**


	22. The Forbidden Forest

**I'm back! My Beta isn't responding, so this will be a non-Beta chapter.**

**Remember there's a poll in my profile very important.**

**I don't own HP or FB.**

**Enjoy.**

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Nico D'Kiaro, Duncan's Hufflepuff friend, a Brown haired, black eyed boy, began to read.

"**CHAPTER FIFTEEN, THE FORIBIDDEN FOREST**" Nico began, while everyone else started whispering about what this chapter could include.

McGonagall, who was extremely upset at the reminder of what had happened the past chapter, had her lips thinned in anger.

**Things couldn't have been worse.**

"Considering this is _you_ we are talking about, Duncan, I disagree," said Maggie with a smirk.

**Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover- up stories chased each other around Duncan's brain, each more feeble than the last. He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?**

"Still wondering it" mused Belloc

**There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes.**

"And where many couple go to make out," George snickered while Nico smirked before continuing.

**Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already. Had Duncan thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.**

"Oh no" muttered Kenny

"**Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other three. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag -"**

"Shut up Neville!" cried Maggie.

**Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the four of them.**

"Potter!" McGonagall snapped, softening lightly when she saw Harry flinch.

"**I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."**

"How did you get out of this one?" asked Isabel

"We didn't" was the answer

**It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.**

"With a request like that, it's normal to be speechless" said Jenna.

**"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"**

"No, they were only helping a friend" snapped Nico

Swift glares were sent to the Professor who did a well job hiding her blush.

"You were thinking of James," said Lupin softly.

Minerva couldn't look at him.

Harry's eyebrows went together. Why would his father do something like that?

**Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt.**

"Oh. It's alright, Harry, I understand that." Neville smiled.

**Poor, blundering Neville**

"Sorry Nev"

"It's allright guys"

- Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

**"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!"**

Margaret and Remus let out a loud string of laughter while Sirius barked, and McGonagall had the decency to smile lightly.

"You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Misters Evans, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this.

"Low blow" muttered Maggie, squeezing Duncan's hand. Duncan smiled brightly

"Very low blow" agreed Isabel

**All four of you will receive detentions - yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."**

"Fifty? Just for being out of bed?" asked Margaret a bit impressed.

"**Fifty?" Duncan gasped - they would lose the lead, the lead Harry'd won in the last Quidditch match.**

**"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.**

"WHAT?!" said Belloc in shock. "Even I'm not that harsh"

"**Professor – please"**

**"You can't -"**

**"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."**

Everyone flinched, not only at her reply to Harry, but at the word ashamed, and many Gryffindors hung their heads, despite the fact that it was four years ago.

**Two hundreds points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?**

Many people started feeling guilty, remembering how they treated the Evans after they found out they were involved.

**Harry and Duncan didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours. Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?**

"They will be a bit angry, but hopefully not so much." said Margaret reassuringly. The Gryffindors who had ignored the Evans gulped.

**At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have two hundreds points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and a trio of other stupid first years. From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Harry was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup.**

Silence rung in the great hall, as McGonagall looked at everyone, even more ashamed.

"Where is the house unity in this place? The equality? You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" She snapped.

**Everywhere Harry or Duncan went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him.**

Remus, Belloc and Margaret all glared at them.

**Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Evans, we owe you one!"**

**Only Ron stood by them.**

"That's a good friend" said Margaret smiling.

**"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."**

"What?" said Mrs. Weasley dangerously.

The twins gulped.

"He did it." said the twins in unison pointing at their other twin.

Mrs. Weasley's glare didn't waver as people turned their laughing into coughing.

**"They've never lost two hundred points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.**

**"Well - no," Ron admitted.**

"Just one hundred and one" said George

**It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.**

"Yeah right" snorted Duncan

**He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. They felt so ashamed of themselves that they went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.**

"And what would be the good in that?" asked Belloc

"We didn't want to attract attention more than we were at the moment" Duncan explained

"**Resign?" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"**

"The Quidditch nuts has a point" said Belloc, and Margaret slapped him in the back of the head for that nickname.

**But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to the cousins during practice, and if they had to speak about them, they called them "the Seeker" and "The Chaser"**

Fred and George bit his lip.

"Sorry, mate." They said, feeling extremely horrible for how they acted.

Before anything could go on though, Umbridge, who many people had forgotten about, interrupted.

"Maybe we should take the blasted cloak away. It's obvious it –" Harry's eyes went wide at this.

"It's obvious it's an heirloom, so you can't take it away." Said Belloc. Umbridge glared at him.

**Hermione, Duncan and Neville were suffering, too.**

"Weren't you mentioned above?" asked Nico

"Yeah, but he was suffering a different kind of suffering." Said Harry, glaring daggers at the ones who did it.

**They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either.**

"It didn't bothered to me…the silence I mean" said Duncan quietly

**Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence. Duncan just took all the insults and glares silently. Harry was completely amazed of his cousin's submissive behavior.**

As was Belloc.

**"It was the same in my others schools. I was the one who was pointed at, the freak, the different. So I take it. I am used to it, anyways." He said when Harry questioned him.**

"_Because they didn't know who he was. Because he was different_" Belloc thought.

Maggie was in tears hearing the bullying towards his best friend. Duncan squeezed her hand, which he hadn't let go since the last chapter.

"Don't worry, it's all over"

**Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery. He, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions...**

**Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test.**

Everybody perked up.

**Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.**

**"No - no - not again, please -" It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer.**

**"All right - all right -" he heard Quirrell sob. Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban.**

**He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end.**

Eyebrows went to the hairline, Belloc's and Maggie's included.

**Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling. All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room,**

"You owe me twelve Sorcerer's Stones, Potter" drawled Snape

This gambling problem of yours, Harry, is getting out of hand," said Fred sadly.

"We'll set you up with the counselor tomorrow," said George determined.

Harry rolled his eyes, his lips twitching almost into a smile as everyone chuckled.

**and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step - Quirrell seemed to have given in at last. Harry found Duncan in a corridor and told him what he had heard.**

"Do you ever not tell him something?" asked Neville amused.

Duncan looked away as everyone chuckled. He hadn't told Harry what happened earlier this year; he was just too shocked and frightened himself to explain that in a letter.

**Then they went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. Harry told them what he'd heard.**

**"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"**

**"There's still Fluffy, though," said Duncan.**

**"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid,"**

"Don't think so" muttered Belloc, his mind racing a mile per second

**said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do, Harry?" The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.**

**"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."**

"You should have done it right in the beginning" said Isabel

"You have no proof" said Belloc

"**But we've got no proof!" interrupted Duncan.**

"You are definitely your father's son." Chuckled Margaret

"And proud of it!" smiled Duncan

**"Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor - who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining." Hermione and Duncan looked convinced, but Ron didn't.**

**"If we just do a bit of poking around -"**

**"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."**

Snape looked shocked at this, as did George, but they both quickly recovered.

**He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.**

Duncan groaned. He hated so much that class. So much.

**The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Duncan, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:**

**_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._**

_**Professor McGonagall** _

Maggie gulped

**Duncan had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost,**

Hermione smacked Duncan.

"I was not so study-obsessed!"

"_Since when_?" asked Harry. Duncan chuckled.

**but she didn't say a word. Like Harry and Duncan, she felt they deserved what they'd got. At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there - and so was Malfoy. Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.**

"Me too" was heard among the Hall

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?"

"Hmmm….not really" said Duncan. Margaret sighed.

"These books will give me a heart attack, I am sure of it"

**he said, leering at them. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me...**

"That's sadistic!" cried Jenna

"Kind of agree in there" mused Belloc. "Just joking, just joking!" he said seeing Duncan's face

**It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed...**

"Can't you sack him?" asked a creeped Margaret.

**Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do." They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Duncan wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.**

Maggie and Isabel whimpered. Duncan and Harry looked at each other and sighed. If they got scared by Flich's threats…

**The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.**

**"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."**

"Oh, if they are with Hagrid, there's not to worry" said Margaret relieved.

**Harry's heart rose and Duncan smiled; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have showed in his -face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy - it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."**

"Into the forest just for being caught out of bed?" asked Belloc astounded

"I didn't know they were going into the forest, Dumbledore made the arrangements."

Belloc now glared at the Headmaster. If something happened to his son…

**At this, Neville let out a little moan, Duncan just smiled even more,**

"And why's that, Mr Rosenblatt?" asked Umbridge

"Not telling" said Duncan

**and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.**

**"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night - there's all sorts of things in there - werewolves, I heard." Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise. Duncan made an exasperated sound.**

**"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?" Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.**

**"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Duncan, Hermione?"**

**"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."**

**"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."**

"Go Hagrid!" said Kenny

"**I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily,**

"Why that bastard…" said Margaret, so quietly that no one heard her.

**and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.**

**Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.**

**"I'm not going in that forest", he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.**

"Scared, Ferret?" said Duncan tauntingly

"You wish"

"You were" said Harry

**"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."**

"You tell him, Hagrid" said Ron

"**But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this,**

"My father will know about this" said Duncan in an attempt of mimic Malfoy. Maggie laughed.

"Daddy's boy" said Harry with contempt.

**"He'd tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or Yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on"' Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.**

Belloc grinned; the boy was learning some humility…

"Too bad he didn't go and pack his bags, everyone would have been happier without him if he did," Ron said.

"**Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment." He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.**

**"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."**

"I don't like the sound of this…" said Belloc

**Duncan gasped. A unicorn injured? How was that even possible? He had gone into the Forest to hunt many times**

"Mr Rosenblatt, twenty points from Gryffindor!" snapped Snape. Duncan groaned.

**and he knew that unicorns were surprisingly fast. But what could be a creature fast enough?**

Belloc was thinking along the same lines

"**And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.**

"Don't say that" moaned Margaret.

**"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."**

"Poor thing" said Jenna sadly

**"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.**

**"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Harry, Duncan an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh - so, be careful - let's go." The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Duncan, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right.**

"I am the only one who thinks they don't have to be separated?" asked Remus. Half of the Hall raised their hands.

**They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground.**

**"Don't worry, Har, the most dangerous creatures with which I have encountered are centaurs." Said Duncan.**

"I only passed one time at that moment, Roran spotted me." Said Duncan. "Of course, my list of "_Dangerous creatures which I have encountered_" has quickly grown since that." Harry and Ron nodded in agreement while their parents looked at them in concern.

**Harry looked at him in shock.**

**"What? Don't look at me like that, I come here to hunt deers and stuff once in a while."**

"I said ONCE IN A WHILE" said Duncan, uncomfortable of the looks he was receiving. Hermione had again that thoughtful expression.

**smirked Duncan. Harry stared at him for a couple of seconds and then looked away.**

**Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.**

**"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.**

"Nah, we're not fast enough," Remus said, smiling at Harry, who smiled back. Many students, who didn't know Lupin, looked surprised by his verb usage.

"**Not fast enough," said Duncan.**

**"It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before." Said Hagrid. They walked past a mossy tree stump. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.**

**"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"**

"WHY? WHAT'S HAPPENED?" Margaret shouted, clearly into the story, making everyone laugh.

Mrs. Weasley squeaked in horror. "What, now?!"

"Duncan, you should join Margaret and I," said Belloc calmly, knowing this was going to do hell on his nerves.

Duncan and Maggie exchanged looks behind Hermione's back. Belloc noticed and smiled to himself.

"How about this," said Belloc grabbing Ron's wand from the table.

Hermione let out a squeak as she lifted from the seat and went directly next to Margaret' seat and within arm's reach. Then Maggie was moved to sit in the middle of Duncan and Hermione.

Duncan had his suspicions why he had moved Maggie and Hermione and Belloc bit back a smirk.

Duncan and Maggie turned a little red. They were right next to each other and it was near to impossible not to be touching.

"Continue, Nico," said Belloc amused.

**Hagrid seized Harry, Duncan and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The four of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.**

**"I knew it, " he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."**

**"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.**

"Harry!" Remus sighed.

"Sorry, Remus." He blushed.

"**That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now." They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.**

**"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself - I'm armed!" And into the clearing came - was it a man, or a horse?**

"A centaur" said Hermione

"No really? I thought it was a chicken" said Kass sarcastically

"Or a dolphin" added Rosezelene.

**To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.**

**"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?" He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.**

**"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"**

**"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow.**

**"There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter, Duncan Rosenblatt an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."**

**"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.**

**"Good evening," said Ronan. Althought his eyes shone with recognition when he saw Duncan, he didn't say anything**

"Thank you Roran, I would have been in so deep trouble if you had" sighed Duncan

**"Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"**

**"Erm -"**

**"A bit," said Hermione timidly.**

"A bit, that's all you said, you're not going to prattle on all about what you learned," Ron said teasing her.

"I was a bit distracted at the time," Hermione said harshly, glaring at him.

"**A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."**

Mars is the planet that symbolizes war,"Margaret said. "That doesn't sound good."

"Which war you think they would be referring to? Light versus Dark or Kaiju versus humans?" Duncan asked his Dad.

"It could be both. Both are surely to happen, after all"

**"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt - you seen anythin'?" Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.**

**"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."**

What does he mean, the first victims?" Margaret asked, but none of them would look her in the eye or answer.

"Is another war about to break out?" Remus asked, and still they didn't answer

Duncan fidgeted in his seat guiltily. It was his fault that the on-coming war humans against Kaiju had started…

"**Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"**

**"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently.**

**"Unusually bright."**

**"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home, said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?" Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets." A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.**

**"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"**

**"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"**

**"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured - would yeh know anythin' about it?" Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.**

**"Okay, enough about Mars already,"Ron groaned.**

**"One of the fastest ways to annoy Ron is to keep repeating yourself," Hermione said laughing. "One day we did that and he about went mental."**

**"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then." Harry, Duncan and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.**

**"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."**

**"Are there many of them in here?" asked Hermione.**

**"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."**

**"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.**

**"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns - never heard anythin' like it before." They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry and Duncan kept looking nervously over his shoulder. They had the nasty feeling they were being watched. Harry was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow, and Duncan with his excellent reflexes with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.**

**"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"**

"Oh no" the adults and some students said in worry.

"**You three wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"**

"Don't leave them!" Molly said

**They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.**

**"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.**

**"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville... it's our fault he's here in the first place." The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?**

**"They are coming, I can smell them" Duncan told Harry, making him relax.**

"People don't smell other people" said Ginny curiously.

"_Oh crap_" thought Duncan, seeing Hermione with that thoughtful look again

**At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.**

"Stupid git" growled Duncan

"**We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups - Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, Duncan, you go with Fang an' this idiot."**

**I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to the cousins, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done." So Harry and Duncan set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.**

**"Look -" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy. Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer. It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead.**

The females looked down trying not to cry.

**Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.**

**Harry and Duncan had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Harry, Duncan, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.**

"Dear sweet Merlin," Kenny said shuddering, and everyone shuddered too.

**"AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted - so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry - unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward the boys - Harry couldn't move for fear.**

"RUN HARRY!" yelled Isabel in fear, making a grab for Harry's hand.

**Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire.**

"What?" asked some people, confused.

"**Harry, run!" said Duncan, grabbing his hand trying to make him move, as he watched the figure getting nearer and nearer.**

"Get out of there" whispered Margaret in worry

**Half blinded, Harry staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over the cousins, charging at the figure. The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees. Duncan kneeled to his side, worried sick.**

Everybody sighed in relief.

**It took a minute or two to pass. When Harry looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.**

**"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.**

**"Yes - thank you - what was that?" The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at the boys, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead and in Duncan's scaly skin.**

**"You are the Evans boys," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time - especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.**

**"My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry and Duncan could clamber onto his back.**

"That's—"

"Shockingly impressive," Arthur interrupted his wife, surprised how a centaur would let Harry and Duncan on its back.

**There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.**

**"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have humans on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"**

**"Do you realize who these are?" said Firenze. "These are the Evans boys. The quicker they leaves this forest, the better."**

**"What have you been telling them?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"**

**Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best, " he said in his gloomy voice. Bane kicked his back legs in anger.**

**"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!" Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on. Duncan nearly fell.**

**"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."**

Yeah, you tell him!" Charlie cheered.

**And Firenze whisked around; with Harry and Duncan clutching on as best they could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them. Harry and Duncan didn't have a clue what was going on.**

**"Why's Bane so angry?" Duncan asked. "What was that thing you saved us from, anyway?"**

**Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry and Duncan to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.**

**"Harry and Duncan Evans, do you know what unicorn blood is used -for?"**

**"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."**

**"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.**

"But what happens if the unicorn is already dead when you drink from it?" Harry asked Hermione, who shrugged

**"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, deaths better, isn't it?"**

**"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power - something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Evans, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"**

"Holy shit, the stone," Belloc said, ignoring Margaret's glare.

"But no one is near death," Jenna said confused.

"**The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course - the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who -"**

**"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?" It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry and Duncan's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."**

**"Do you mean," Duncan croaked, "that was Vol-"**

**"Harry, Duncan! Are you all right?" Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.**

**"I'm fine," said Duncan, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."**

**"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now." Harry and Duncan slid off his back.**

**"Good luck, Harry and Duncan Evans," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."**

"Me too" muttered some people

**He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving the cousins shivering behind him.**

**Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake. In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry and Duncan began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the forest. Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. Duncan was still shaking.**

**"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."**

**"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them. Harry wasn't listening.**

**"Firenze saved us, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."**

**"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.**

**"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off—"**

**"Over my dead body, Harry. Before he kills you he will have to kill me first!" bellowed Duncan,**

"Duncan, that loyalty of yours is going to get you killed one day" Belloc sighed, remembering the party, when he was imprisoned and the prom. "Not to mention that you are too soft for your own good" he grumbled under his breath.

**unable to believe that Harry would simply _wait_ for his death.**

Duncan didn't mention that he thought he was doing exactly that in the party, in the moment that Belloc had grabbed him. He shuddered. He had never been more scared in all his life. Well, except the night of the prom**…**

**Hermione looked terrified, but she had a word of comfort.**

**"Harry, Duncan, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic." The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.**

**When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them.**

**There was a note pinned to it:**

**Just in case.**

"That the end of the chapter," said Dumbledore who quickly flicked through the pages. "I know there are only two chapters left, but I think we need some rest,"

Some of the teens protested, but Dumbledore wouldn't hear a word of it.

**Reaching the end! Review!**

**Pop question: Would you like "something"to happen in the night break? If you know what I mean...**


	23. Night break

**This is the best thing I could come up with...don't kill me...**

**In the Poll the mayority of people voted "yes" so, unless there is suddenly a massive votes of "no" today, Duncan will be with Harry in "The man with two faces. You are still in time!**

**Anyway...here is the chapter...**

* * *

Everyone made their way to the dormitories. Harry and Duncan were relieved. They werealmost through the whole book already and nobody suspected anything about them.

Or so they thought.

As Ron and Hermione watched Duncan and Harry leave, theywere sure that something was off. They remembered quite clearly that day in first year.

_FLASHBACK _

_Eleven-year-old Duncan, Hermione, Harry, and Ron were enjoying their time, all alone in the common room. Ron was talking about his family. _

_"How is yours, Dun?" Ron asked. Duncan stiffened. _

_"I have been living with Harry since I was eight." He muttered uneasily. Hermione suspected it was a painful subject, but Ron insisted: _

_"I mean your Mum and Dad." _

_"Well, my Mum was always kind to me. She is like the best mom in the world." said Duncan, smiling slightly. _

_"And your Dad?" Duncan's face darkened. _

_"He…he left me when I was a baby." He whispered, clearly upset with the topic of conversation. Harry glared murderously at Ron. _

_"I'm sorry Duncan, I didn't know!" Ron said profusely. _

_"It doesn't matter." _

_END FLASHBACK _

"Look," said Hermione. "Duncans' dad with Remus, Sirius, and Mr. Weasley, Ron."

"Should we follow them? It seems serious." said Ron.

"Yes we should!"

* * *

Ron and Hermione walked silently until they heard voices from a classroom. They hid behind a wall and listened.

"Would you like to explain how is it that Duncan said that that was the first time he saw you?" asked Remus, angered.

"What do you expect me to explain? Duncan said the truth."

"_He admits it._" thought Ron incredulously.

"The truth?!" snarled Mr. Weasley. "Is that true, then? Your own son never knew you?"

"He met me this year." Belloc Said shortly.

"_This year? They met this year? How can he talk so calmly about this?"_ thought Hermione, already angered.

"What reason can you have to leave your wife and son?!" shouted Mr. Weasley.

The same thought was in Ron's and Hermione's heads.

"I didn't want to abandon Margaret, but I had to when Duncan was born."

"_So he abandoned them because he had a baby. That bastard."_ Thought Hermione beyond furious.

_"Heartless, stupid son of a bitch._" thought Ron angrily.

Remus had started to yell at him, but Belloc interrupted him.

"If someone of your family was in danger, wouldn't you have done everything to keep them safe?"

"What this have to do with…?"

"I left because I wanted to protect him. If I stayed, Duncan would have been in danger. I thought he would be safe with his mother."

"_Safe? Well, seeing as he ran away from abuse, went to another abusive home, went to a school of magic for five years, and then returned back to his mother and you didn't notice it, it didn't go very well_." Thought Hermione

Ron was disgusted. "_That sounds far too much like the Dursleys and Harry_."

They were ready to demand explanations, but a voice stopped them:

"You gave me up."

"_Oh no_." thought Hermione frozen with horror. "_He was here the whole time. It has to hurt, poor Duncan_."

"_He has suffered enough, why did he have to hear this_?" thought Ron.

"Duncan?" Belloc then sniffed the air and said, "You and your cousin are underneath that cloak of yours, Aren't you?"

Pulling off the invisibility cloak, Harry and Duncan stared accusingly at Belloc.

"_How he could know that?"_ thought Hermione astounded.

"You gave me up." Duncan repeated.

Hermione and Ron were feeling really bad. It has to hurt to hear your father saying those things. But they didn't interrupt. It was Duncan's right to question him.

"I did not give you up. You are my son. I would never give you up. For anything." Belloc stated. "I left to protect you and your mother, Duncan."

"_From what?!"_ thought Ron and Hermione, they didn't accept this as a good excuse.

"To protect us, you say." Duncan said angered. "Then explain to me, just what did we need to be protected from?!"

"_You tell him, Duncan!"_ thought Ron fiercely.

"The counsel." Belloc answered.

"The what?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Persons who give advice to others, I think." Hermione said.

"You saw how they reacted when I introduced you to them. How do you think they would have reacted if you were just a small child? Abbadon and Astaroth, my own advisors, would have killed you easily back then."

"_What kind of people does he have in his counsel?"_ thought Hermione horrorized. "_And what's that supposed to mean, 'his own advisors'?"_

"I handled those two just fine! Why would I need to be protected from them?!" Duncan protested.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? 'Your own advisors'? 'I handled them fine'? What's that supposed to mean?" Remus interrupted.

"Those traitors made an attempt on Duncans life earlier this year."

"_No, not another megalomaniac with a grudge with Duncan._" thought Ron.

"With our combined efforts we managed to beat them, but many people were injured in the process." Belloc explained. "And yes, they were my advisors at the time." Belloc then turned to his son. "Now Duncan, please listen to me. Had the counsel ever found out about you before this year, well, the counsel, they are like lions. When one male challenges and overthrows the Alpha, or in this case, the king,

"_King? So Duncan's a prince_?" Ron thought amazed. _"Why he didn't tell us?"_

_"Why would he want to hide that from us_?" Hermione thought.

"He kills all of the previous kings offspring and then takes the previous kings mate as his own."

Ron stiffened.

"_That's….that's barbaric and horrible_!" Thought a shocked Hermione.

Duncan looked shocked by this information.

"I think I can see why you left Duncan and Aunt Margaret now." Harry stated. "Had you not left, and you were overthrown, and by overthrown I think you mean killed, Aunt Margaret and Duncan would be dead or worse by now."

"And because you did leave, if you were overthrown by those barbaric people on your counsel, Duncan and Margaret would be safe because the counsel would not know about them." Mr. Weasley finished.

Belloc nodded. "Exactly."

"So he really did leave to protect them." whispered Hermione. Ron nodded mutely.

"Are you really a king?" Remus asked.

"Yes, I am."

"King of what?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"That will be explained in time. Now, I think we should head back to dinner. People might be getting worried." Belloc smiled and started to walk back to the great hall.

"I want to know what Belloc is King of." whispered Ron.

"We can ask Duncan later." Hermione whispered back.

"Wait Dad!" Duncan called out.

Belloc stopped and turned around. "Yes, Duncan?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten mad at you. You were just protecting us." Duncan apologized.

"I _wouldn't be so forgiving, my friend._" growled Ron in his mind.

"It's alright, Duncan. I did not explain why I left, so you had a very good reason to be angry with me. Honestly, I would have been surprised if you had not gotten mad." Smiled Belloc.

With that, Ron and Hermione left, completely astounded by what they had just heard.

* * *

As Dumbledore announced bedtime, Ron and Hermione looked at each other. This is the time. They went into the common room, and Ron extended an arm in front of Duncan to make him stop.

"Duncan, can we talk to you?" asked Hermione. Duncan glanced at Harry, who nodded, and then Duncan followed them. Ron and Hermione didn't talk until they were sure nobody was listening.

"We know what you are." said Ron completely serious. Duncan's eyes widened as he paled a lot.

"R-Really? H-How did you find out?" he stammered.

"We heard the conversation between you and your Dad." Hermione explained. Duncan looked confused, there were more hints in the Reading than in the conversation he had with his Dad.

"So, are you going to say anything, Your Majesty?" said Ron, doing a bow mockingly. Duncan looked completely and utterly confused.

"So you aren't scared, or angry?" he asked, his eyebrows went together.

"Why would we be? You didn't tell us that you were a Prince, after all." Hermione said. Duncan looked blankly at her before comprehension showed on his features.

"Oh." He said. "Oh. I get it now…he told me that I was his heir, not a Prince." It sounded weird, Duncan thought, the Prince of the Kaiju.

"Why you didn't tell us, mate?" Ron asked. Duncan decided it was too soon to tell them the truth. _I am a coward…_

"I didn't know at the time. I was living with my mom, she is…normal." that was true, but not in the way they expected. "One day, my Dad suddenly came and told me I was his heir, because I was his only son. And yeah, two brutes tried to kill me this year, but without the help of my friends I wouldn't be here. In fact, Dad saved my life. Sorry for not telling you, it was happening way too fast. I thought I would never see my Dad, he came. I thought I was a nobody, instead, I was a Prince."

Ron and Hermione nodded their heads in understanding.

"Can I leave now? I'm falling asleep right here." said Duncan, yawning.

His friends nodded and made their way to the dormitories. As Duncan went to bed, he saw Ron staring at him, and in the other side, Harry looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"_That was just way, way, WAY too close_" thought Duncan. _"I almost had a heart attack._"

_"You lied to them_." Said an accusatory voice in his head.

"_These weren't lies, Harry; don't try to be my Jiminy Cricket. I am not ready to tell them yet. I will, but not now. Not now." _he thought. He rolled to his side and fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

**Don't kill me, I know it's short, but it was the best thing I could come up with. Suggestions, questions and such are apreciated! I hate people who read and doesn't review, it buggers me.**

**Pop question: Guess what will be the trap that Duncan helps his friends with. Cm'on, it's easy...**


	24. Through the trapdoor

**I am still trying to get over the fact that nobody reviewed my last chapter...you are bad...**

* * *

Duncan awoke at feel someone getting into bed with him.

Maggie slipped between the mattress and the blankets. Duncan had slept too much already and she wanted to scare him, like she had done when they were little. However, the reaction wasn't what Maggie expected.

"Hi." Duncan said as he wrapped his arm around her. "Shouldn't you be in bed? In YOUR bed, I mean?" he chuckled, feeling well for some reason.

"I wanted to wake you, it's eight in the morning, get up." Maggie smiled.

"You know that Dumbledore said that we would wake up at nine?"

"Oh no." Maggie moaned.

"Oh yeah. Go to sleep a bit more, before they take this the wrong way." Duncan said winking at Maggie. She left his room and Duncan fell asleep again, smiling. (_**Don't look at me like that, my best friend Julian still wakes me like this! And aren't going out...Once my sister found us and took it the wrong way...it didn't help that I was sleeping in underwear and a top, it was HOT that night**_)

* * *

At nine, when everybody was in the Great Hall again, Dumbledore gave the book to Kingsley.

"_You were IN BED with Maggie?!"_ shouted Harry in shock, having saw a glimpse of the events of earlier morning.

"_It was just a joke, Harry, don't worry_"

"**CHAPTER SIXTEEN, THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR**" Kingsley began, before pausing and thinking about how much danger the kids would be putting themselves through. Obviously, Margaret and Belloc felt the same way, as they both had looks of worry on their faces.

**In years to come, neither Harry nor Duncan would never quite remember how they had managed to get through his exams when they half expected Voldemort to come bursting through the door at any moment.**

Everyone flinched, either because of the name or the reasoning behind it.

"That would be distracting, although I doubt that will happen," Kenny said.

**Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door. It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an AntiCheating spell.**

"Have they been tested?" A little Raven spoke up

"They've been tested." Nico snickered.

**They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox - points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was, but taken away if it had whiskers.**

"You're still doing those as exams?" Margaret snorted, shaking her head.

**Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion.**

"Oh, the irony" Belloc snorted, trying his hardest not to glare.

**Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest. Duncan's Potions exam, for him, was completely horrible, since he was having his senses more sharpened than usual, and he leaned a bit too close and inhaled a bit too deep. Next thing Harry knew, Duncan was fainting besides him, with his potion miraculously finished.**

"Oh, no, you instincts are awakening" Belloc chuckled, amused at the bad luck of his son.

"So that's why you fainted" said Harry.

"What happened then? You never told me."

"Well, Snape started dragging you out of the classroom, muttering something about weak brats, then Harry started calling him names and… well, you get the idea" Hermione said

"Miraculously your potion was finished." commented Ron

**Neville thought the Evans had a bad case of exam nerves because they couldn't sleep, but the truth was that Harry kept being woken by his old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.**

Isabel grasped Harry's hand to comfort him.

**Duncan kept being woken by his nightmare, but it was much worse, because he would wake screaming hysterically, feeling as he was being burned alive.**

Recalling the actual experience Duncan shuddered as many people looked at him in worry.

**Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn't seem as worried about the Stone as Harry. Duncan did. A lot.**

**The idea of Voldemort certainly scared them, but he didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and they were so busy with their studying they didn't have much time to fret about what Snape or anyone else might be up to.**

"You should have told someone about your dreams, guys," Hermione said. "It might have helped to talk about it."

"I don't really like to talk about things like that," Harry said shrugging.

"Me neither" said Duncan

"Yes, I've noticed that," Hermione said sighing.

**Their very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry and Duncan couldn't help cheering with the rest.**

**"That was far easier than I thought it would be," said Hermione**

"Aren't all exams easier then you thought, Hermione," Ginny said teasing her, and Hermione stuck her tongue out at her.

**as they joined the crowds flocking out onto the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."**

"You learned that?" Maggie said, stunned and impressed.

**Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.**

"He likes it." The twins protested to the glares.

"He's very friendly." Lee added to the disbelieving looks.

"And you couldn't tell me that for the second task!" Harry and Duncan cried outraged only to receive apologetic looks.

**"No more studying," Ron sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Harry, Duncan, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet." Harry was rubbing his forehead and Duncan was looking downright ill.**

"What?! Were you okay?" asked Maggie

"How come I didn't know about this?" asked Madame Pomfrey

"It would be useless, the pain comes and goes" said Harry

"In my case, let's just say that I was growing up" Duncan said

**"I wish I knew what this means!" he burst out angrily. "My scar keeps hurting - it's happened before, but never as often as this."**

**"Don't tell me, I am feeling like I have a flame consuming my body from the inside." Duncan muttered, his eyes closed.**

"Are the changes supposed to be so painful?" Margaret asked her husband, worried about his son.

"They aren't painful at all. That definitely is not normal" Belloc answered, worried himself

"**Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.**

**"I'm not ill," said Harry and Duncan at once. "I think it's a warning... it means danger's coming..." said Harry. "Growing up hurts, doesn't it?" Harry smiled at Duncan.**

**"You have no idea" he mumbled**

**Ron couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.**

Several people snorted.

**"Harry, Duncan, relax, Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof Snape found out how to get past Fluffy. He nearly had his leg ripped off once, he's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."**

"Sorr…"

"I am not good at Quidditch, so drop it Ron"

**Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake off a lurking feeling that there was something he'd forgotten to do, something important. With a look at Duncan, he knew that despite his state he was the same as him.**

"Stubborn, reckless kid" muttered Belloc. It was obvious that he was in pain, so why he had to make it worse?

**When he tried to explain this, Hermione said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one." Harry was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. He watched an owl flutter toward the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent him letters. Hagrid would never betray Dumbledore. Hagrid would never tell anyone how to get past Fluffy... never... but –**

**Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.**

**"Where're you going?" said Ron sleepily.**

**"I've just thought of something," said Harry. He had turned white.**

**"We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."**

**Duncan looked at him and paled incredibly, his eyes widening. He got up and followed his cousin.**

**"Why?" panted Hermione, hurrying to keep up.**

**"Don't you think it's a bit odd," said Harry, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket?" said Harry**

**" How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?" said Duncan**

"Oh. Wow. That- shit, that makes so much bloody sense." Kenny stated,

"Weren't you in pain, Rosenblatt?" drawled Malfoy

"I was, but I tried not to show it"

**"What are you talking about?" said Ron, but the cousins, sprinting across the grounds toward the forest, didn't answer. Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house; his trousers and sleeves were rolled up, and he was shelling peas into a large bowl.**

**"Hullo," he said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"**

**"Yes, please," said Ron, but Harry cut him off.**

**"No, we're in a hurry. Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"**

**"Dunno," said Hagrid casually, "he wouldn' take his cloak off." He saw the four of them look stunned and raised his eyebrows.**

"Hog's head?" Grace asked. Hagrid nodded.

**"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Hog's Head - that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."**

**Duncan sank down next to the bowl of peas. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"**

"Nice and subtle given the situation." Belloc complemented.

**"Mighta come up," said Hagrid, frowning as he tried to remember. "Yeah... he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here... He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I took after... so I told him... an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon... an' then... I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks..."**

"Well, that's definitely a way to make Hagrid talk!" Margaret said, shaking his head while Umbridge shook her own while mumbling filthy half-breed.

"**Let's see... yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted... but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home... So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."**

**"And did he - did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Duncan asked, trying to keep his voice calm.**

**"Well - yeah - how many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep -" Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.**

The real Hagrid was shaking his head, obviously realizing what his statement had truly done.

**"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" he blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey - where're yeh goin'?"**

**Harry, Ron, Duncan and Hermione didn't speak to each other at all until they came to a halt in the entrance hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.**

**"We've got to go to Dumbledore," said Harry. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak - it must've been easy, once he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?" They looked around, as if hoping to see a sign pointing them in the right direction. They had never been told where Dumbledore lived, nor did they know anyone who had been sent to see him.**

"Harry, Duncan, should I be disappointed or proud?"

"I just didn't get caught Remus."

"Proud it is." Molly glared at him while the others looked at him in awe, particularly the twins and Lee.

"Wait till they find out your a Marauder. They'll treat you like a god." Whispered Duncan and Harry

"And they'll know you're the Marauder's heirs." Both looked a little grim. Padfoot barked a laugh.

**We'll just have to -" Harry began, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall.**

**"What are you four doing inside?" It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.**

**"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione, rather bravely, Harry, Duncan and Ron thought.**

**"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"**

**Harry swallowed - now what?**

**"It's sort of secret," Duncan said, but he wished at once he hadn't, because Professor McGonagall's nostrils flared.**

"Oh, Duncan, you _never_ say that to Gonny," Margaret stated, her eyes widening when she realizes what she called her sister's professor.

**"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."**

**"He's gone?" said Duncan rather tiredly. "Now?"**

**"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Rosenblatt, he has many demands on his time –"**

**"But this is important."**

**"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Rosenblatt?."**

**"Look," said Harry, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor - it's about the Sorcerer's stone -" Whatever Professor McGonagall had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't pick them up.**

**"How do you know -?" she spluttered.**

Fred and George groaned.

"Seven years, we have tried…"

…"Seven bloody years…"

"And the scrawny git manages to shock Gonny without meaning to."

**"Professor, I think - I know - that Sn- that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore." She eyed him with a mixture of shock and suspicion.**

**"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said finally. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."**

The Evans, Ron and Hermione snorted.

**"But Professor -"**

**"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."**

**But they didn't.**

**"It's tonight," said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot.**

**"Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."**

"That we did." Fudge admitted.

**"But what can we -" Hermione gasped. Harry, Duncan and Ron wheeled round. Snape was standing there.**

**"Good afternoon," he said smoothly. They stared at him.**

**"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, with an odd, twisted smile.**

**We were -" Harry began, without any idea what he was going to say.**

**"-Going to do exactly that, Professor" said Duncan**

**"You want to be more careful," said Snape. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it?"**

"If I'd been up to something, you wouldn't have caught me." Duncan laughed.

**Duncan flushed. They turned to go outside, but Snape called them back.**

**"Be warned, Evans - any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."**

"But people don't get expelled for nighttime wanderings, Sni—Snape." Margaret snarled, while Belloc stroked her arm, surprised at what just came out of her mouth. He knew she felt bad about it, and whispered into her ear, telling her it was alright.

**He strode off in the direction of the staffroom. Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.**

**"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently. "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape - wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."**

**"Why me?"**

**"It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong...'"**

**"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.**

**"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron and Duncan.**

**"Come on." But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.**

**"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!"**

"We are." They said as one

**she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!" Harry, Duncan and Ron went back to the common room, Duncan had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.**

"Oh, no" muttered Maggie

**"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."**

**"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said. The other three stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.**

**"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."**

**"You're mad!" said Ron.**

**"You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"**

"And here comes the really powerful, heartfelt speech that only the Evans can make." Ron said.

**"SO WHAT" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"**

Many people were about to shout "hear hear" at Harry's speech, but stopped mid shout when he ended it with his parents death, not wanting to do that.

**He glared at them.**

"Did you honestly think we would let you go down there alone?" Hermione asked.

"I wasn't used to having people care about me, except Duncan" Harry said. "Besides, asking your friends to risk their lives goes beyond the call of friendship."

"You and Ron were the first friends I had and you guys cared about me, as I cared about you," Hermione said. "Of course we were going down there with you."

"Besides, you wouldn't have gotten anywhere without Hermione and Ron watching after you," Duncan said grinning.

"That's true," Harry laughed. "But I also needed you too."

Duncan blushed a deep red at that. Hermione beamed at Harry, Duncan really needed to hear how important he was.

**"You're right Harry," said Duncan.**

**"I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."**

**"But will it cover all four of us?" said Ron.**

**"All - all four of us?"**

**"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"**

**"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."**

**"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."**

**"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."**

A loud clattering was heard from the Gryffindor table. Maggie, who was about to take a sip from her goblet, had dropped in it shocked at hearing that.

"You- you- got more than me! I only got one hundred and ten!"

Duncan laughed, unable to stop himself when looking at his mate. "Wait, d_id I just call her my…_?"

"_I think you did_." Said Harry, as amazed as he.

**After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry or Duncan any more, after all. This was the first night they hadn't been upset by it. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry, Duncan and Ron didn't talk much. The three of them were thinking about what they were about to do. Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.**

**"Better get the cloak," Duncan muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left,**

Lee looked furious with himself

**stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He putted out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given Duncan for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy - he didn't feel much like singing. He ran back down to the common room.**

**"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"**

**"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.**

"Oh, no"

"**Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back. Neville stared at their guilty faces.**

"We have improved in lying since them" Duncan commented

"Definitely"

"**You're going out again," he said.**

**"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?" Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.**

**"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."**

**"You don't understand," said Duncan, feeling incredibly hot again, "this is important." But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate.**

**"I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!"**

"Do you think you would have came if we told you the truth?" Ron asked.

"I don't know, maybe," Neville shrugged.

"I think he would have," Hermione said.

**"Neville, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"**

**"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"**

"Yes, but I don't think they meant themselves, dear," Molly stated nicely while Neville smiled back politely. Margaret, having heard that, chuckled. Neville chuckled too. Personally, Duncan's mom seemed better than Ron's

**"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing." He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.**

**"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm ready!" Harry turned to Hermione.**

**"Do something," he said desperately. Hermione stepped forward.**

**"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this." She raised her wand.**

"I really was sorry, Nev,"

"It's fine, Hermione," Neville smiled as Kingsley continued to read.

**"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville. Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, stiff as a board. Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.**

People could see all the younger years making a note of the spell.

**"What've you done to him?" Duncan whispered.**

**"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."**

**"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.**

"Completely understandable, mates."

**"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak. But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.**

**"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Duncan whispered in Harry's ear,**

"Duncan" Margaret scolded.

**but Harry shook his head. He was sweating due to Duncan's heat.**

"You were still hot?" asked Belloc a bit worried

"How can a person be so hot?" asked Hermione

"_You were hot…hmmm…you weren't IN heat, weren't you_?" asked Harry.

"_W-What?! I was eleven, for God's sake_!"

**As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything. They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.**

**Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.**

Peeves' eyes widened.

"**Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen." Duncan had a sudden idea.**

**"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.**

"Bloody brilliant, son!" Belloc laughed, clapping his hands as Snape scowled in his general direction.

People roared with laughter.

**"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake - I didn't see you - of course I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."**

**"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Duncan. "Stay away from this place tonight."**

**"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." And he scooted off**

The laughter got worse and Peeves hovered over to Duncan.

"Old Peeves takes his hat off to Rosie and Rosie has old Peeves' respect." Peeves said with a sweeping bow and a deep chuckle came from near the door and everyone looked to see the Bloody Baron, which made people look at Duncan in awe. (_**Get it? ROSEnblatt, ROSie)**_

**"Brilliant, Duncan!" whispered Ron. A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor - and the door was already ajar.**

**"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy." Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other three.**

**"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."**

**"Don't be stupid," said Ron.**

**"We're coming," said Hermione.**

**"Through thick and thin, remember?" said Duncan**

Harry smiled lightly at Duncan, who smiled back.

**Harry pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.**

**"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.**

**"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."**

**"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes..." He handed Duncan the flute. Duncan put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It was really a tune, and from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Duncan hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.**

**"Keep playing," Harry warned Duncan as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.**

**"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"**

"What a gentleman" said Kass sarcastically

**"No, I don't!"**

**"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.**

**"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.**

**"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop." Harry, who was staring at Duncan playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.**

"Why I am not surprised?" asked Margaret

**"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron. "I don't know how deep this thing goes."**

**Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom. He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"**

**"Right," said Ron.**

**"See you in a minute, I hope..." And Harry let go.**

"That is Gryffindor bravery right there."

**Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and - FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.**

**"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!" Duncan and Ron followed right away. They landed, sprawled next to Harry.**

**"What's this stuff?" were his first words.**

**"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!" The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but**

**Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.**

**"We must be miles under the school , she said.**

**"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.**

**"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!" She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles.**

"Devil Snare." Neville said worried.

**As for Harry, Duncan and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the t boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.**

**"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"**

**"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck.**

**"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.**

**"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Duncan gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.**

"Try not to fight something that is choking you" said Maggie

"**Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? – it likes the dark and the damp"**

**"So light a fire!" Harry choked.**

Duncan smiled

**"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.**

Maggie laughed, Nico guffawed, the twins shouted in shock and the rest of the hall looked on at Hermione, surprised that she could truly lose her head at that moment.

"**HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"**

**Duncan wasn't paying attention to the plant trying to kill him…**

"What?" was heard across the Hall

**he was too hot…unbearably hot…he needed to use that energy, he needed it away or it would kill him.**

Belloc's eyes widened. "_Do something. Now_."

**He opened his mouth and let out a long, bloodcurdling scream. Harry, Ron and Hermione were shocked to see that, as Duncan screamed, a huge flame started forming from his inside, without hurting him. In a matter of seconds, three two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth.**

The Hall was looking at Duncan in shock.

"What the hell was that?" asked Fred.

"Survival instincts?" said Duncan

**"It seems that you are more powerful that I thought" smiled Belloc**

**Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.**

**"Are you okay?!" Harry all but shouted, as when the flame has disappeared Duncan collapsed in the ground.**

**"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit…tired" he panted as he stood.**

"The same with the ceremony in the lair" Belloc whispered to Duncan.

"Why? What did he do?" asked Harry, he didn't know of what his Uncle was talking about, but he would have liked to see Duncan doing that again.

"Something similar to what he did in the book, but worse for him. The fool wasted too much energy when he showed-off." Belloc grumbled.

"I didn't mean to!" said Duncan

**"Lucky that Duncan still does accidental magic" said Harry**

"It wasn't accidental magic, that's for sure" Flitwick said. There was something off in the Rosenblatt boy…

"**Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Duncan doesn't lose his head in a crisis - 'there's no wood,' honestly."**

People chuckled.

"**This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon - Norbert had been bad enough...**

**"Can you hear something?" Duncan whispered. Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.**

**"Do you think it's a ghost?"**

"We wouldn't make that noise." The friar smiled.

"**I don't know... sounds like wings to me." Said Duncan**

**"There's light ahead - I can see something moving." They reached the end of the passageway and saw before them a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above them. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy wooden door.**

**"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Ron.**

**"Probably," said Harry. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once... well, there's no other choice... I'll run." He took a deep breath, covered his face with his arms, and sprinted across the room. He expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at him any second, but nothing happened. He reached the door untouched. He pulled the handle, but it was locked. The other three followed him. They tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Hermione tried her Alohomora charm.**

"There was a possibility, people look past the obvious."

"Now what?" said Ron.

"**These birds... they can't be here just for decoration," said Hermione. They watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering - glittering?**

**"They're not birds!" Harry said suddenly. "They're keys! Winged keys - look carefully. So that must mean..." he looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys. "... yes - look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"**

**"But there are hundreds of them!" Ron examined the lock on the door.**

**"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one - probably silver, like the handle."**

That was very clever of you," Isabel said.

"Ron can be rather brilliant when he wants to be," Hermione said smiling.

**They each seized a broomstick and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. They grabbed and snatched, but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one. Not for nothing, though, was Harry the youngest Seeker in a century. He had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, he noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.**

**"That one!" he called to the others. "That big one - there - no, there - with bright blue wings - the feathers are all crumpled on one side." Ron went speeding in the direction that Harry was pointing, crashed into the ceiling, and nearly fell off his broom.**

People laughed as Ron blushed.

**"We've got to close in on it!" Harry called, not taking his eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Ron, you come at it from above - Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down and Duncan and I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"**

"Nice leadership skills, Potter." Mad-Eye grumbled.

**Ron dived, Hermione rocketed upward, the key dodged them both, and Harry and Duncan streaked after it; it sped toward the wall, Harry leaned forward and with a nasty, crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Ron, Duncan and Hermione's cheers echoed around the high chamber. They landed quickly, and Harry ran to the door, the key struggling in his hand. He rammed it into the lock and turned - it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.**

**"Ready?" Harry asked the other three, his hand on the door handle. They nodded. He pulled the door open.**

"So we've had Sprout and Flitwick." Colin commented.

**The next chamber was so dark they couldn't see anything at all. But as they stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight. They were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than they were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing them, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Harry, Duncan, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly - the towering white chessmen had no faces.**

"That's kind of creepy," Jenna said shivering.

"**Now what do we do?" Harry whispered.**

**"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Ron. "We've got to play our way across the room." Behind the white pieces they could see another door.**

**"How?" said Hermione nervously.**

**"I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen." He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.**

**"Do we - er - have to join you to get across?" The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other two.**

**"This needs thinking about he said. I suppose we've got to take the place of three of the black pieces..." Harry, Duncan and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said,**

**"Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess -"**

"I doubt they'd be offended, Ron." Remus said quietly, with the others nodding their head in agreement.

**"We're not offended," said Duncan quickly. "Just tell us what to do."**

**"Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle. Duncan, take the place of the another bishop"**

**"What about you?"**

**"I'm going to be a knight," said Ron. The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words a knight, two bishops, and a castle turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board, leaving three empty squares that Harry, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione took.**

**"White always plays first in chess," said Ron, peering across the board.**

**"Yes... look..." A white pawn had moved forward two squares. Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Duncan's knees were trembling. What if they lost?**

"Don't think like that, sweetheart," Margaret murmured.

**"Harry - move diagonally four squares to the right." Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, facedown.**

People's eyes widened, what if they did lose or one of them got taken?

**"Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on." Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy.**

**Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board, taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.**

**"We're nearly there," he muttered suddenly. "Let me think let me think..."**

**The white queen turned her blank face toward him.**

**"Yes..." said Ron softly, "It's the only way... I've got to be taken."**

**"NO" Harry, Duncan and Hermione shouted.**

As did most of the Hall

**"That's chess!" snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me - that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!"**

**"But -"**

**"Do you want to stop Snape or not?"**

**"Ron -"**

**"Look, if you don't hurry up, he'll already have the Stone!" There was no alternative.**

**"Ready?" Ron called, his face pale but determined. "Here I go - now, don't hang around once you've won." He stepped forward, and the white queen pounced. She struck Ron hard across the head with her stone arm, and he crashed to the floor - Hermione screamed but stayed on her square - the white queen dragged Ron to one side. He looked as if he'd been knocked out. Shaking, Harry moved three spaces to the left.**

**The white king took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet. They had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one last desperate look back at Ron, Harry, Duncan and Hermione charged through the door and up the next passageway.**

**"What if he's -?"**

**"He'll be all right," said Harry, trying to convince himself. "What do you reckon's next?"**

**"We've had Sprout's, that was the Devil's Snare; Flitwick must've put charms on the keys; McGonagall transfigured the chessmen to make them alive; that leaves Quirrell's spell, and Snape's." They had reached another door.**

**"All right?" Harry whispered.**

**"Go on." Harry pushed it open. A disgusting smell filled their nostrils, making both of them pull their robes up over their noses. Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.**

**"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," Harry whispered as they stepped carefully over one of its massive legs.**

"You and me both, Harry." Isabel said, wrinkling her nose.

**"Come on, I can't breathe." Said Duncan. He pulled open the next door, the three of them hardly daring to look at what came next - but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.**

**"Snape's," said Harry. "What do we have to do?" They stepped over the threshold, and immediately a fire sprang up behind them in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward.**

**They were trapped.**

"Dun dun DUUUUUUUUNNN" Said the Weasley twins trying to light the mood.

**"Look!" Hermione seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. Harry and Duncan looked over her shoulder to read it:**

**_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, One among us seven will let you move ahead, Another will transport the drinker back instead, Two among our number hold only nettle wine, Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_**

**_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide _**

**_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; _**

**_Second, different are those who stand at either end, But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; _**

**_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_**

_**Fourth, the second left and the second on the right Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.** _

"It's a riddle, I love riddles," Belloc said.

"Do you think you could solve it?" Harry asked.

"Probably, but not without the bottles in front of me," Belloc said.

"Very poetic Severus." McGonagall smirked making most laugh.

**Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing.**

**"Brilliant," said Hermione. "This isn't magic - it's logic - a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."**

**"But so will we, won't we?"**

"No, you have Hermione" smiled Kenny

**"Of course not," said Hermione. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple."**

**"But how do we know which to drink?"**

**"Give me a minute." Hermione read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.**

**"Got it," she said.**

"Of course she does," Snape growls, annoyed.

**"The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire - toward the Stone." Harry looked at the tiny bottle.**

**"There's only enough there for one of us," he said. "That's hardly one swallow." They looked at each other.**

**"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?" Hermione pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.**

**"One of us will have to stay here" said Hermione, as they were two bottles and three of them.**

"I didn't think of that…" Margaret said

**"No…" came Duncan's voice. "No we won't…"**

"Excuse me?" came from across the Hall

**While Hermione and Harry were talking, Duncan had move closer to the fires. His eyes shone green.**

"Oh…" Belloc said in understanding

**"Those…those aren't normal fires, we can see it. But they don't hurt me…much" he said, putting his hand into the black flames, showing them that he wasn't burned.**

"What the-?"

"How is that even possible?"

"What?"

"Why?"

Snape was shell-shocked. Without the bottles it would be impossible to pass through the fire. No human could do it. Snape stopped here. _No human_…

**"It is powerful...it drains me if I touch it too much. I can go to either of them. I will go to the black flames, and you won't stop me. So, decide, which of you will take which bottle?" Hermione looked at him, completely amazed. She opened her mouth to ask something,**

"Not the time, Hermione" said Maggie.

**but Harry interrupted her:**

**"You drink that," said Harry. "No, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying- key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy - go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. We might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."**

**"But guys - what if You-Know-Who's with him?"**

**"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again.**

"Please don't say that." Remus groaned.

**And we are two now" Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.**

Isabel glared at Hermione

**"Hermione!" said Duncan when Hermione did the same to him.**

Maggie's turn to glare at her.

**"Harry, Duncan - you're great wizards, you know."**

**"I'm not as good as you," said Duncan very embarrassed, as she let go of him.**

**"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh guys - be careful!"**

**"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"**

**"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered.**

**"It's not poison?" said Harry anxiously.**

**"No - but it's like ice."**

**"Quick, go, before it wears off."**

**"Good luck - take care."**

"Hermione, GO!" Many people shouted.

**"GO!" Hermione turned and walked straight through the purple fire. Harry took a deep breath, looked at Duncan and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames.**

**"Here we come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp. It was indeed as though ice was flooding his body. He put the bottle down and walked forward with his cousin; he braced himself, saw the black flames licking his body, but couldn't feel them - for a moment he could see nothing but dark fire - then he was on the other side, in the last chamber. Duncan stood shaking with the sudden lack of energy.**

"Not good" said Belloc

**There was already someone there - but it wasn't Snape.**

"Wait…what?!" asked Belloc in complete shock.

**It wasn't even Voldemort.**

"That's the end of the chapter" said Kingsley

Rosezelene grabbed it fiercely and began to read. She REALLY wanted to know who the person was.

* * *

_**YAY! Almost there!**_

_**Pop question: Why do you think Duncan will pass out in the next chapter? (I mean, I won't know how to write if he stays awake, so give me a suggestion)**_

_**REVIEW!**_

_**H.E.B.**_


	25. The man with two faces

**Last chapter! Enjoy and review! Any suggestion for the next story PM me or review! Enjoy!**

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**"CHAPTER SEVENTEEN, THE MAN WITH TWO FACES"** Rosezelene started

**It was Quirrell.**

"WHAT?" Many people shouted.

A few people's mouths turned into "O's" as they stared at the book shocked.

Lupin and Belloc started figuring out why Hermione, Duncan, Ron and Harry would always exchange looks and looked mad when ever Quirrell was mentioned.

"Ah, that explains a lot," said Margaret faintly.

**"You!" gasped Harry and Duncan. Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all.**

A few people raised their eyebrows. It was one thing for him to be smiling, quite another that he wasn't twitching.

**"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter. But I didn't know you would bring your cousin too"**

"Where's his st-st-stutter?" George questioned, his head tilted.

**"But I thought - Snape -"**

**"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat.**

Some people laughed nervously

**Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"**

"That was so annoying." A lot of people groaned.

**Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.**

**"But Snape tried to kill Harry!" Duncan said**

**"No, no, no. I tried to kill him. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."**

"I take back _all_ the things I said about him" said Belloc

**"Snape was trying to save me?" asked Harry, being dragged backwards for Duncan, who had started backing away when he heard that Quirrell had wanted to kill Harry.**

"Good boy, now get out of there!" muttered Belloc

**"Of course," said Quirrell coolly. "Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular... and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."**

"No you won't" said Margaret. "Neither my son nor my nephew"

"Well at least we know that's not true," pointed out George cheerfully.

"Or perhaps he is a ghost." said Fred seriously.

"Yes, that would explain a lot," said George, nodding thoughtfully.

A few people smiled or chuckled and Harry was glad that the twins were here to diffuse the tension.

**Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry and Duncan.**

Growls could be heard coming from around the room, and Belloc had stepped up, in a tense, attack mode, getting into the "protective father" mode he developed so long ago.

**"You're too nosy to live, Evans. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."**

**"You let the troll in?" asked Duncan from the floor, as he had fall.**

**"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls - you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there?**

"Idiot. Us Slytherins might be cunning but that's mostly flaw, vanity and wanting to gloat." Daphne shook her head. Her head of house, Duncan and Harry agreed thinking of Voldemort.

**Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off - and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly.**

"Damn," said Belloc quietly.

Margaret faintly smiled.

**Now, wait quietly, Evans. I need to examine this interesting mirror." It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.**

Almost everyone raised their eyebrows.

"What's the mirror doing there?" asked Remus bewildered.

"**This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he's in London... I'll be far away by the time he gets back..."**

"Or dead." McGonagall muttered.

**All Duncan could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.**

"Another good plan, Rosenblatt." Moody growled.

**"I saw you and Snape in the forest -" Harry blurted out.**

"Oh dear god. First Filch and Snape with Snape's robes up—"

"And then Snape and Quirrell in the forest—" George finished, cackling.

**"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side...**

"He was there in the classroom?!" asked the majority of the room as they gasped.

**" Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it.**

**"I see the Stone... I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"**

"That's his heart's desire, lovely," said Kass wrinkling her nose in disgust. "But the mirror won't show him where it is will it?"

"Nope. The mirror shows his heart's desire, it doesn't show anything but that, his desire is to give Voldemort the stone, not to find the stone," Hermione explained.

"So where is the stone?" Rosezelene asked pausing from reading.

"Keep reading you'll find it," said Harry smirking

**Harry and Duncan struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give. They had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror.**

**"But Snape always seemed to hate us so much."**

**"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead."**

"Sureee," Harry grumbled, grinning.

"**But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you..." For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.**

**"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"**

"Correct on both accounts." Ron said.

"If only Voldemort wasn't a psycho..." Harry said.

"…he could have done a lot of good in the world." Duncan agreed.

**"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Duncan gasped.**

Everybody gasped

**"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it...**

"Not true." Grumbled Duncan

**Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me." Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..." Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley -how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"You weren't stupid, you were just young" Isabel said

**Quirrell cursed under his breath.**

**"I don't understand... is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"**

**Harry's mind was racing. What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden!**

"Very good, Mr. Potter" said Dumbledore

**But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to? He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored him.**

Astoria face palmed, "No wonder we ended up with Crabbe and Goyle." People snorted.

**He was still talking to himself.**

"First…"

"…Sign…"

"…Of…"

"…Madness." Said Ron, Hermione, Harry and Duncan. People chuckled at the "quartet talk".

**"What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!" And to Harry and Duncan's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself**

**"Use a boy... Use a boy..." Quirrell rounded on the cousins.**

Margaret paled, truly realizing just how much danger her son was in, alongside Belloc.

HE'S IN THE BLOODY ROOM?!" shouted just about everyone.

Mrs. Weasley was too shocked to reprimand anyone for language.

**"Yes, one of you, come here." He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding the Evans fell off.**

Belloc face palmed. That was an idiotic thing to do. He was as happy as he could be that Harry and Duncan survived, but you never release your enemy.

**Duncan helped Harry to his feet.**

**"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see." Harry and Duncan walked toward him. I must lie, Harry thought desperately. I must look and lie about what Isee, that's all.**

"Yes, Potter, because The Dark Lord isn't a skilled Legillimens," Snape mumbled, with James arching an eyebrow.

**Quirrell moved close behind him. Duncan breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban, trying to figure a way to get out of there. Harry closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again. He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket - and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - he'd gotten the Stone.**

The majority of the room had raised their eyebrows bewildered.

"Wha – "

"I'm sure it will be explained," assured Dumbledore.

"**Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?" Harry screwed up his courage.**

**"I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I - I've won the house cup for Gryffindor." Quirrell cursed again.**

**"Get out of the way," he said. As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. Duncan looked at his pocket and his eyes widened.**

"How is that you figured it out so quickly?" asked Maggie. Duncan shrugged.

**Dare he make a break for it? But they hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips.**

**"He lies... He lies..."**

Duncan shuddered, remembering that voice very easily.

"Shit."

"Mr Thomas."

**"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"**

**The high voice spoke again. "Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."**

**Master, you are not strong enough!"**

**"I have strength enough... for this..." Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot. Duncan would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Duncan had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.**

"Oh-"

"Dear-"

"Merlin." The twins stated, realizing what was underneath that turban, what they were throwing snowballs at. They shuddered at the thought of it.

Upon everyone's faces was shock and horror.

Mrs. Weasley squeaked and hid herself in the crook of Mr. Weasley's arm.

Isabel tightened her grip on Harry's hand and he seemed to not mind. Maggie squeezed Duncan's hand, remembering how weak he was at the previous chapter.

**"Harry Potter..." it whispered. Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move. Duncan was petrified.**

"RUN NOW!" screamed Maggie, completely scared.

**"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?" So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He and Duncan stumbled backward.**

**"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."**

Margaret and Remus growled

**"LIAR!" Duncan shouted suddenly.**

"I don't know much about my Aunt and Uncle, but I know they wouldn't do that" said Duncan

**Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see them. The evil face was now smiling.**

"Crap."

"Mister Rogers."

**"How touching..." it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, Harry, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."**

**"NEVER!"**

"You tell him, Harry."

**Harry and Duncan sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him. The pain in his head lessened - he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers - they were blistering before his eyes.**

"Huh."

**"Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet' landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck - Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony.**

**"DON'T TOUCH MY BROTHER!" Yelled Duncan,**

"Brother?" asked most people

"Like I said, brothers from different parents"

**racing towards Quirrell and knocking him to the ground.**

"GO DUNCAN!" yelled most of the Hall.

"I forgot the magic" said Duncan

"**Kill them, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort. Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face –**

**"AAAARGH!" Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew:**

**Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain - his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse.**

**Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off – the pain in Harry's head was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and other voices, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry!**

**Harry!"**

Many people flinched at this line and Isabel, having still been holding Harry's hand, squeezed it tighter than before.

**He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down...**

**Duncan watched Harry fainting, desperate. Duncan felt like he was going to pass out, but he had enough energy to send a flame to Quirrell's direction. He then turned to Harry. He tried to reach him, but suddenly he couldn't move. He felt so weak…**

**"I'm sorry Harry" he muttered while falling down… down…down…**

"NO!" yelled Maggie almost in tears.

"Calm down Mags, I am here, I am fine, remember?"

"Yeah, right...sorry" she muttered, blushing.

**Something gold was glinting just above him. The Snitch! He tried to catch it, but his arms were too heavy. He blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.**

**He blinked again. The smiling face of Albus Dumbledore swam into view above him.**

"Does this mean you are now out of the trapdoor?" asked Margaret her heart in her throat.

"Yes," Harry said.

"How did you get out?" Belloc asked.

"I'm not so sure, all I can remember was everything going black and then waking up with Dumbledore staring down at me."

**"Good afternoon, Harry," said Dumbledore. Harry stared at him. Then he remembered: "Sir! The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Sir, quick -"**

**"Calm yourself, dear boy, you are a little behind the times," said Dumbledore. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."**

**"Then who does? Sir, I -"**

**"Harry, please relax, or Madam Pomfrey will have me thrown out." Harry swallowed and looked around him. He realized he must be in the hospital wing. He was lying in a bed with white linen sheets, and next to him was a table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop.**

**"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Dumbledore, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat.**

"So there's where it went" said Ginny amused.

**No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."**

Many people laughed, and Harry grinned before turning towards the twins.

"I'm still expecting to see it at one point, Weasleys."

"**How long have I been in here?"**

**"Three days. Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Granger will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried."**

**Harry looked to his side and saw Duncan lying in his bed with his eyes closed.**

"THEY WERE IN A COMA FOR THREE DAYS?!" screamed Margaret.

**"What happened to him?! Is he okay?! When he is going to wake up?!" he screeched**

"Exactly at that moment, Har"

**Duncan groaned and slowly came into consciousness. He heard voices. He listened a bit more and he recognized one voice. He groaned and slowly, very slowly opened his eyes. Harry smiled at him in the bed next to his.**

**"I won" he said. "I woke sooner."**

People chuckled and shook their heads fondly at their childish behavior.

"In my defense, you always wake sooner than me"

**Then Duncan realized.**

**"Sir, the Stone! It was Quirrell! I…!"**

"And again: So alike"

**"I see you two are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."**

**"You got there? You got Hermione's owl?" asked Harry**

**"We must have crossed in midair. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you."**

**"It was you."**

**"I feared I might be too late."**

**"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer -"**

**"Not the Stone, boy, you - the effort involved nearly killed you two. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had.**

"There is seven books everyone." said Duncan, pointing out the obvious in which people have forgotten.

"It nearly killed you, Harry and Duncan Evans, you didn't tell us this!" snapped Hermione angry from been kept in the blue.

"Sorry," said Harry not wanting to rile her up anymore.

"Dad, don't look at me like that." Chuckled Duncan at his Dad's wide-eyed expression. "I will have to get used to almost die." He winked at him. Needless to say, Belloc was not amused.

**As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."**

"But Nicholas Flamel…"

**"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend - Nicolas Flamel -"**

**"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "You did do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."**

**"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?" asked Duncan**

**"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."**

**Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry and Duncan's faces.**

**"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day.**

"I have been wondering, Kaijus can live for ages, right?" Harry asked his Uncle.

"Right." Answered Belloc.

"So how much Duncan will live?" Belloc's eyes widened, he definitely hadn't thought of that.

**After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."**

A few nodded their heads in agreement.

**Harry lay there, lost for words. Dumbledore hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.**

**"Sir?" said Harry. "I've been thinking... sir - even if the Stone's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know- Who -"**

**"Call him Voldemort, kids. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."**

"Please remember that." Harry said, throughout the book when the name was read most people shuddered and couldn't do it properly and flinches went through the room.

"**Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?" asked Duncan**

**"No, Duncan, he has not. He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share... not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies.**

Malfoy paled a little bit. But he, surely, would be treated better as a Deatheater then as an enemy, right?

**Nevertheless, kids, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time - and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power."**

"He did, just three years later" said Harry

**Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, "Sir, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me... things I want to know the truth about..."**

**"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."**

"You're twisting the truth." accused Harry under his breath. "And he knows everything."

**"Well... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place?" Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time.**

_If the books don't tell him I will._ Thought Dumbledore

**"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day... put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older... I know you hate to hear this... when you are ready, you will know." And Harry knew it would be no good to argue.**

"I wanted, though." Said Duncan

"**But why couldn't Quirrell touch Harry?" asked Duncan, remembering Quirrell's hands**

**"Harry, your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."**

Harry sighed. He still didn't understand why love was so important and that it could conquer everything else that stood in its path.

"_Love is a powerful thing. It can do the impossible. Look at me, for example. Mum and Dad are from species that were enemies at the time. If love could change that, then, what it can't change_?" asked Duncan. Harry looked surprised.

**Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet. When he had found his voice again, Harry said, "And the invisibility cloak - do you know who sent it to me?"**

**"Ah - your father happened to leave it in my possession, and I thought you might like it."**

**Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Useful things... your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here."**

"Don't forget the pranks" said Remus

**"And there's something else..."**

**"Fire away."**

**"Quirrell said Snape -"**

**"Professor Snape, Harry."**

"Like I'll ever respect him enough to call him _Professor_," Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes as Belloc and Duncan thought the same thing.

**"Yes, him –**

A few people chuckled.

**Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"**

**"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Mr. Malfoy. And then, your father did something Snape could never forgive."**

**"What?"**

**"He saved his life."**

"He did no such thing!" Snape snarled.

"Lay off it, Severus. We know he did." Margaret replied, smirking.

"What?"

**"Yes..." said Dumbledore dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt... I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year because he felt that would make him and your father even. Then he could go back to hating your father's memory in peace..."**

Snape wanted to sigh in relief. Potter didn't know the full story. Perhaps he should…? No, what a stupid thought. Potter would always believe his father was a saint.

**Harry tried to understand this but it made his head pound, so he stopped.**

**"And sir, there's one more thing..."**

**"Just the one?"**

**"How did I get the Stone out of the mirror?"**

**"I knew it!" Duncan whispered**

**"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to find the Stone - find it, but not use it - would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking Elixir of Life.**

"That's smart, Albus" said Sprout

**My brain surprises even me sometimes... Now, enough questions. I suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them - but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"He smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into his mouth. Then he choked and said, "Alas! Ear wax!"**

There were a few nods in agreement.

**"Just five minutes," Harry pleaded. **

"It's not going work." sung the twins

**"Absolutely not." **

They looked smug.

**"You let Professor Dumbledore in..."**

**"Well, of course, that was the headmaster, quite different. You two need rest."**

**"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..." begged Duncan**

**"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes only."**

Jaws went to the floor.

"How…what…?"

"Is part of the charm" said Duncan smugly

"What charm?" asked Harry

"Shut it Lightening."

**And she let Ron and Hermione in.**

**"Guys!" Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around them again, but Harry and Duncan were glad she held herself in as Harry's head was still very sore and Duncan was still very weak.**

**"Oh, Harry, Duncan, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried -"**

**"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron. "What really happened?" It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Harry and Duncan told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.**

"It was a shock."

"**So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally. "Flamel's just going to die?"**

**"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."**

**"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was.**

"I am." Dumbledore admitted. Maggie and Isabel squeezed Duncan's and Harry's hands, happy that they were fine.

"**So what happened to you two?" said Duncan.**

**"Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall - he already knew – he just said, 'Harry and Duncan's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the third floor."**

**"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"**

"Yes." Harry said, loud and clear, causing Albus to look up in shock.

**"Well, " Hermione exploded, "if he did - I mean to say that's terrible - you could have been killed."**

"He better have not." growled Belloc, Margaret, Lupin and Mrs. Weasley.

Dumbledore was studying his nails.

Harry and Duncan were looking bewildered. This happened five years ago for Merlin's sake!

**"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."**

**"If he did, I will have a few things to say to him…" muttered Duncan**

"Agreed" muttered Margaret, Remus, Belloc, Mrs. Weasley, Isabel and Maggie

**"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you – but the food'll be good."**

The Evans frowned.

The twins noticed and rolled their eyes. "You're more obsessed than we are, guys,"

"I should have been there…" mused Duncan guiltily.

"You had just stopped Voldemort's – " the twins faltered over Voldemort's name, but looked proud that they did. There was a collective shudder around the room.

" – return, guys." they continued as they shook their heads.

"Even that's more important than Quidditch." added Charlie, giving Harry a rueful smile.

**At that moment, Madam Pomfrey bustled over. "You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT" she said firmly.**

**After a good night's sleep, Harry and Duncan felt nearly back to normal.**

**"I want to go to the feast," they told Madam Pomfrey as she straightened his many candy boxes. I can, can't I?"**

**"Professor Dumbledore says you are to be allowed to go," she said stiffly, as though in her opinion Professor Dumbledore didn't realize how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."**

**"Oh, good," said Harry. "Who is it?"**

**Hagrid sidled through the door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to the Evans, took one look at them, and burst into tears.**

**"It's - all - my - ruddy - fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again!**

Snorts went through the room.

**I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"**

"Calm down Hagrid, it's Harry and Duncan that we are talking about, they would have discovered it anyways" said Margaret. Hagrid smiled

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard. "Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him." Said Duncan**

**"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"**

**"VOLDEMORT!" Duncan bellowed,**

"You could have given him a heart attack, Duncan," reprimanded Mrs. Weasley.

Duncan looked embarrassed, but Margaret looked irritated.

"If he wants to say the name, then so be it," said Margaret with conviction.

"Now, listen here – "

"I am Duncan's mother, Molly," said Margaret coldly. "I can decide what's best for Duncan."

Mrs. Weasley looked outraged. "Then, clearly, you're not doing your job right!"

Margaret and Belloc's faces turned red. "Now, wait a second, Moll – "

"Stop it," said Duncan desperately, which made them stop arguing and just glower.

Duncan squeezed Maggie's hand.

"Mrs. Weasley, I appreciate everything you have done for me, but Margaret is my MOTHER, and Belloc my FATHER, they can decide it perfectly."

"And Margaret," said Remus quietly. "You're not the only one who cares about Duncan, but I do agree, Molly, with Duncan."

"Well," huffed Mrs. Weasley. "It seems I am out numbered. I – I'll just go ahead listen to the reading."

There was an awkward silence before Rosezelene continued to read.

**and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying. "I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..." Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."**

**"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.**

As did others only it was a lot stronger.

**"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead - anyway, got yeh this..." It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.**

**"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?" Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood.**

"So that's what that was for." Amelia, Remus and Kingsley chorused.

**Harry and Duncan made their way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. They had been held up by Madam Pomfrey's fussing about, insisting on giving them one last checkup, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. When Harry and Duncan walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once.**

All who had done that winced.

**They slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at them.**

**Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.**

**"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts...**

Minerva started muttering under her breath that Albus was encouraging them to forget what they already learned.

**"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with two hundred and sixty two points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and eighty- two."**

**A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.**

**"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account." The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.**

**"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes...**

**"First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley..." Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.**

Snorts and laughs where poorly contained, made even harder by Ron throwing pillows at his bests mates.

**"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."**

**Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"**

Some giggled but Percy smiled at his brother.

**At last there was silence again. "Second - to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points." Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears.**

Harry had more pillows thrown at him.

**Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up. "Third - to Mr. Harry Potter and Duncan Rosenblatt..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points each." The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and eighty-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup – if only Dumbledore had given Harry or Duncan just one more point. Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.**

**"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."**

Grace cheered, and Neville looked down and smiled, remembering how embarrassed he was during this feast.

**Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before.**

**Duncam, still cheering, nudged Harry in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him.**

More laughter went through the hall and Kenny nearly joined Fred and George rolling on the floor.

"**Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration." He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.**

"_We were naïve_" commented Harry

"_Couldn't agree with you more_."

**It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls... he would never, ever forget tonight.**

**Harry and Duncan had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To their great surprise, they and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, of course, had the best grades of the first years. Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Goyle, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life. And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.**

**"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, " The three of you - I'll send you an owl."**

"Or by car," winked Harry and Duncan nodded.

"I don't want to know," groaned Margaret shaking her head and for once everyone agreed.

**"Thanks," said Duncan, "We'll need something to look forward to." People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:**

**"Bye, Harry!"**

**"See you, Potter!"**

**"Bye, Duncan!"**

**"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.**

**"Not where I'm going, I promise you,"**

"It is nice to be unwanted," said Harry absentmindedly.

He realized he was receiving the biggest bewildered looks yet.

"He means, it's nice not being recognized," clarified Duncan quickly.

**said Harry. He, Duncan, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together. "There he is, Mom, there he is, look!" It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.**

**"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see"**

Ginny blushed and Harry looked at Hermione, Duncan and Ron, rolling his eyes before smirking at them as they laughed.

**"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point." Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.**

**"Busy year?" she said.**

"Nah, pretty quiet" laughed the Evans

**"Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."**

**"Oh, it was nothing, dear."**

**"Ready, are you?" It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry and Duncan, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry and Duncan.**

**"You must be Harry and Duncan's family!" said Mrs. Weasley.**

**"In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boys, we haven't got all day." He walked away. Harry and Duncan hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione.**

Belloc and Sirius growled

**"See you over the summer, then."**

**"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.**

**"Oh, we will," said the Evans looking at each other, and their friends were surprised at the grin that was spreading over their faces. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. We are going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."**

Maggie snorted.

**THE END**

The great hall burst into noise as Rosezelene read that last sentence, and when Albus stood up, it quieted immediately.

"We will have some free time, and the we will start to read the second book" he said.

Duncan and Maggie looked at each other and smiled, Fred and George walked over to Harry to try to convince him to pull a prank on Duncan, and Belloc and Margaret sighed, wondering if they could survive to reading to ANOTHER book of their son's and nephew's adventures.

* * *

**Here it goes pretty much like a moth of my life...I'll post an Author Note here telling you when the second part will be published...maybe tomorrow, if I have time. Thank you for all my readers and reviewers.**

**See you,**

**H.E.B.**


	26. Sequel up!

**Did I mentioned that Reading the second book is published now? I didn't?!**

**Sorry!**

**Just go to my profile and tah-dah! It will be there. And please answer the Prologue question and the Summary question. Guess!**

**H. E. B.**


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